[2020 Unpacked] Granting Freedom to Your Hands, the 'Galaxy Z Flip'

Galaxy Z Flip Experience
Fits Easily in Back Pocket
Angle Fixing Advantage, Difficult to Open with One Hand
Surprisingly Useful External Display

[San Francisco (USA) = Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Galaxy Z Flip is a compact foldable phone that fits perfectly in one hand when folded and can easily fit into the back pocket of pants. Unlike the widely unfolding Galaxy Fold, the Galaxy Z Flip unfolds small and long, but can be fixed at the desired angle to take photos or videos and multitask. It greatly enhances the advantage of folding by reducing the hassle of needing to fix it to take photos or watch videos.

On the 11th (local time), Samsung Electronics held an unpack event in San Francisco, USA, and unveiled the 'Galaxy Z Flip.' It folds vertically, reducing its size by half, making it easy to carry. Thanks to the hinge that can be fixed at various angles and finely adjusted, it offers 'freedom of the hand' when taking photos or video calls.

Although it is a foldable phone, it does not end with just folding and unfolding. Like a laptop, it can be fixed at any angle from 70 degrees to 180 degrees. Without stretching your hand far or using a tripod, you can adjust the angle as if sitting the phone down to take photos or make video calls. This is called the 'freestop' folding function. The 'Flex mode,' which allows the screen to be split into two when making video calls or taking photos, is also useful. The upper part shows the video recording or photo preview screen, and the lower part controls the app. It can be used with the default camera and gallery apps, and in the future, this feature will be supported by Google's video call app Duo, YouTube, Snow, B612, and others. The Galaxy Z Flip can use two apps simultaneously, and the screen ratio can be freely adjusted, enabling multitasking such as watching YouTube while sending KakaoTalk messages.

The Galaxy Z Flip must be opened with both hands. The hinge is relatively tight, making it somewhat difficult to open and close with one hand like traditional fold phones. Samsung Electronics explained that to open and close with one hand, the fixing function must be removed, and this is the differentiation point. When folded, it measures 73.6mm in width and 87.4mm in height, slightly larger than a large square Post-it note. The thickness is about 17.3mm, thicker than existing smartphones, but the weight is 183g, lighter than the Galaxy S10+.

The most concerning part when purchasing a foldable phone is the display. The Galaxy Z Flip's display uses 'Ultra Thin Glass,' which is smoother than the plastic material used in the Galaxy Fold. When unfolded, the screen ratio is 22:9, which does not feel out of place compared to existing Galaxy smartphones. To protect the screen, the bezel is wrapped in plastic material, and bumpers the size of fingernails are attached to each corner of the screen. When folded, micro-fiber fabric, which is barely visible to the naked eye, is installed above and below the hinge to prevent dust and foreign substances from entering. Samsung Electronics explained that they conducted tests of folding and unfolding more than 200,000 times to test the durability of the hinge and display panel at the folding part.

The 1.1-inch cover display is an unexpected asset. It can display the time, date, battery status, as well as support selfie shooting and music playback. On the right side of the device are volume control buttons, power, and fingerprint recognition buttons. Pressing the power button twice switches to selfie mode, allowing you to preview the photo to be taken on the cover display, albeit somewhat blurry. Swiping the cover display to the left allows you to change music playback or pause settings, and accepting calls while folded enables speakerphone calls. Samsung Electronics will launch the Galaxy Z Flip in the global market on the 14th. The colors are purple, black, and gold. Purple and black will be released first in Korea, and the price is 1.65 million won.