In our last review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, we called it the smartphone equivalent of the Mazda MX-5. What it lacks in power as many perceive, the Flip4 more than makes up for its shortcomings with style, ingenuity, and novelty.

Yes, flip phones aren’t exactly ‘new’ following their resurgence these past few years. But like the plucky roadster from Mazda, it stands out from the rest, wherever you take them. Not only do they easily stand out, but they are also compact and look cool to boot. So what is really holding them back from being really adopted by the mainstream market?

Most of the complaints about Samsung’s more recent Flip models were the relatively small batteries these phones come with. In the Flip3, it was the power-users *cough* reviewers who tend to gripe about the ‘mere’ 3,300mAh battery the device came equipped with. Fully aware of this and directly addressing the issue, Samsung released the Flip4 with 3,700mAh batteries which to be honest, would be more than sufficient for casual users.

I consider myself a semi-power user and shifting over from the S22 Ultra to the Flip4, on paper, the difference between these phones is apparent. How can they not be, right? The S22 Ultra has a 5000mAh battery capacity while the Z Flip4 comes with ‘just’ 3,700mAh. However, considering I usually end my day with about 35% of battery left on the Ultra, I essentially require about 3,250mAh to get me through the day.

But wait! That’s well within the realms of even the Z Flip3. Once you consider that the S22 Ultra has a better, bigger and brighter screen, a casual user who rarely plays games or runs heavy-duty apps on their devices would be much better off with the Z Flip4. It’s like a person whose daily commute involves driving between their house to the nearest MRT station won’t need a souped-up supercar. A cute, zippy roadster would have done the same job but twice the fun. It just makes sense.

Now I am not dismissing the power of the S22 Ultra. By far it sits at the top of the pile as Samsung’s best offering of 2022. But put it next to other makes in the market and while it does stand out due to its size, it does not wow as much as the Flip4.

Power users tend to seek the best in the market. Flagship-tier processor, most advanced camera, largest sensor and as many bells and whistles crammed into a model. It sucks that this package isn’t yet available in flip form but here’s to hoping for one in the near future.

For reference’s sake, I made my wife use the Z Flip4 for a full week to simulate a more casual user experience. Unlike me, she isn’t a heavy user of her mobile device, only looking at the phone to reply to texts, for calls and the occasional Instagram scrolling. Surprise surprise – at the rate she’s using it, the Flip 4 would comfortably last more than a day. Your mileage may vary but this should be a good indicator of how the phone would perform for you.

It goes to show that it isn’t all about what’s written on the spec sheet, but how one utilizes the device. Power users who still want to stand out with their own Z Flip4 would have to cough out a little extra for an external power bank – but in this day and age – I’m pretty sure you have a few of them lying about.

In conclusion, the Z Flip4 and this ‘battery conundrum’ wasn’t really an issue to begin with, unless you are a power user whose screen time exceeds the 5 to 6-hour average. True, the more the merrier and perhaps Samsung could also improve on the subsequent model’s charging rate but for a device made for the casual yet wanting to stand out crowd, we see little to complain about. Battery usage performance in the Flip4 is actually quite respectable save for the most demanding situations.

Review unit provided by Samsung Malaysia.