Samsung Announces The Galaxy Z Flip: Foldable Phone With Glass
by Andrei Frumusanu on February 11, 2020 4:20 PM EST
Today Samsung announced the new Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra, but the regular flagship phones weren’t the only devices announce today as we’ve also seen the unveiling of the new Galaxy Z Flip. The new Z Flip is Samsung’s second foldable phone to market after Galaxy Fold, but takes a new approach in terms of design as it comes in a new clamshell design with only a single primary screen.
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip | |
| Galaxy Z Flip | |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ 1x Kryo 485 (CA76) @ 2.95GHz 3x Kryo 485 (CA76) @ 2.42GHz 4x Kryo 485 (CA55) @ 1.80GHz Adreno 640 |
| Display | Main Display: 6.7" 2636 x 1080 Foldable Glass (!!) Dynamic AMOLED (21.9:9) Cover display: 1.1" 300 x 113 Super AMOLED |
| Dimensions | Folded: 73.6 x 87.4 x 17.3mm (Hinge) - 15.4mm (Sagging) Unfolded: 73.6 x 167.3 x 7.2mm - 6.9mm (Screen) 183g |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR4X |
| NAND | 256GB |
| Battery | 3300mAH (12.70Wh) |
| Front Camera | 10MP 1.22µm f/2.4 80° FoV |
| Primary Rear Camera | 78° Regular Angle 12MP 1.4µm Dual Pixel PDAF f/1.8 OIS, auto HDR, LED flash |
| Secondary Rear Camera | 123° Wide Angle 12MP 1.12µm f/2.2 |
| Tertiary Rear Camera | 45° / Telephoto lens 2x zoom 12MP 1.0µm f/2.4, OIS |
| SIM Size | NanoSIM + eSIM |
| Wireless | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2x2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS |
| Connectivity | USB Type-C |
| Features | (It Folds Glass) |
| Launch OS | Android 10 |
| Launch Price | $1380 / 1480€ |
The Galaxy Z Flip features a Snapdragon 855+ processor, and in general, the internals of the phone seemingly are more akin to a flagship 2019 phone rather than being in line with the more impressive S20 series processors. It comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage which is relatively respectable.
What makes the Z Flip extremely impressive though is its display. It’s not the first flexible display out there, and it’s relatively average with a 2636 x 1080 resolution. What makes it special, is that this is the very first display on the market that has an ultra-thin glass cover on it – yes, it’s a foldable glass screen. The implications here are huge when compared to a plastic foldable screen, and the glass should be significantly more scratch resistant than plastic alternatives, making this a much more viable option when it comes to long-term durability of the phone.
Samsung’s hinge mechanism was designed in such as way that it minimises dust ingress into the gears of the system. What’s also special is that the phone clicks in at different angles such as 120°, instead of being freely flexible at any angle.
The formfactor is interesting and falls in at 73.6mm width. Folded, it’s at 87.4mm length and 17.3mm thick at the hinge and 15.4mm at the sagging end. Unfolded, it grows to 167.3mm length and is only 6.9mm thin. In terms of weight, Samsung was able to keep it relatively in check at 183g, however the battery is a bit less impressive at only 3300mAh.
The front camera is achieved through a punch hole in the screen and features a standard 10MP sensor and f/2.4 aperture lens at 80° field of view. The rear cameras feature a 12MP wide and ultra-wide angle module that look similar in specs to what we’ve seen in the S10 and Note10 series.
What’s interesting is, when the phone is folded, you still have a secondary small information screen next to the cameras, but this is meant to only be able to show limited information or to be used as a tiny viewfinder for selfies using the rear cameras, and does not serve as a full blown useable screen such as the cover display on the Galaxy Fold.
The Galaxy Z Flip will be available February 14th starting at $1380 and 1480€. Considering the novel form-factor, it’s a quite attractive price and seemingly competes very hard against the Motorola Razr in the foldable flip-phone market, even undercutting it in price while sporting much better hardware.
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flyingpants265 - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
You know what would remove the need for a phone case? If the phone weren't designed to explode into 1800 pieces on impact.Duckferd - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
For one. For another, when folded up its a more compact (if thicker) form factor when you put it away, since phones are becoming larger than tacos nowadays. Another use case is a sort of "laptop" style mode for when you put this on your desk- it's much more ergonomic when using as a clock, for video conferencing, or simply for quick peak at information instead of having to prop the phone up on something.BenSkywalker - Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - link
Seeing a picture of this sitting next to a new Razr it hit me, this looks just like a GBA SP.psychobriggsy - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
It's a fancy DS without the game controls, but I certainly see your point!nathanddrews - Tuesday, February 11, 2020 - link
I can't lie, my favorite phone to date is still the Samsung "Blade" A900 flip phone. This is one step closer, it just needs a physical keyboard a la BlackBerry Key annnnnnnd I'm spent.yetanotherhuman - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
Very nice. I like this, we can get sane size phones once again.HardwareDufus - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
pardon my comments about lack of photos. i just imagined getting photos of new products was easier than it is. I'm not in your industry, so forgive me assumption please.We will always be limited by width of a phone as folks want to hold a phone with one hand and dial/type/navigate with their thumb. this lenghwise folding phone, my encourage phones to get even longer... we'll start seeing 2.35:1 aspect ratios (like a cinema screen) soon. folding widthwise can get us to a tabletlike 4:3 aspect ratio.... but then you loose one handed ability unless you introduce a 2nd exterior screen...
I suspect we will continue to see a variety of folding formats and eventually one or two will emerge as the preferred.
flyingpants265 - Wednesday, February 12, 2020 - link
This is probably the worst comment I've ever read on this site.It's the EXACT opposite, you'll always be limited by HEIGHT. 18:9 is already way, wayy wayy too tall and makes the phone unusable.
Sivar - Thursday, February 13, 2020 - link
Really? THIS is the worst comment you have read on this site?An honest apology and a speculation that you do not happen to agree with?
mkozakewich - Sunday, February 16, 2020 - link
I liked the Huawei Mate X style, which unfortunately is a no-go since the plastic screen would scratch. Mate X with folding glass would be a fine phone to hold with one hand, and when you wanted some extra size you could unfold it. That would actually be really good!