It’s July and that means anybody who cares about technology will have to wait only a few more weeks before Samsung has its gala Unpacked event in South Korea. Plenty of new shiny devices are expected to surface, including the next iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4. It’s a no-brainer why the Fold series is doing well; it’s simply a powerful computer that can make you do most things you could have been doing on a laptop all these years. But all eyes will be on the next Flip phone because there are few things cooler than thwacking a phone shut.

We have been using the Galaxy Flip4 for almost one year and that means there are a lot of features that interested us when the phone first launched and a few things that now we want in the next Flip phone. Let’s take a look at why the Flip is important, besides being a fashion statement for many.

Samsung offers many software features that allow you to handle multiple apps on its Galaxy Z Flip 4. More are expected to be added to the next device

Remember, Samsung works closely with Google

One of the ideas behind the Flip is to fit into any pocket and easily. It’s like what the iPhone Mini has tried to do without being a foldable phone. Flip has in its favour a big screen when opened and roughly half the size of a phone when shut.

Samsung has done a fairly good job of tackling the screen crease over the years but the next iteration should make it appear lighter than ever before. What could be a game-changer is the outer screen. One year ago, the outer screen was big enough for many of us but having seen what OPPO Find N2 Flip has done and now the Motorola Razr Plus, it’s time to up the game.

OPPO Find N2 has a biggish outer screen that looks great but what the company has, sadly, highlighted is an old saying — don’t judge a book by its cover. The biggish outer screen can handle a few widgets well but there aren’t enough functions. On the other hand, Motorola has put a massive outer screen on which you can work on any app.

What Samsung is expected to do is offer a big screen and make the software experience far better than the competition. The South Korean company has always worked closely with Google to present unique takes on several features. In fact, the software experience on the Flip4 is brilliant. We are, of course, expecting Maps and step-by-step navigation on the outer screen but, more importantly, a seamless experience between the outer and inner screen. The idea of a flip phone is to keep meaningless interactions at bay when you take out the phone. So if Samsung manages to offer enough software power then you won’t be lured into browsing social media endlessly after replying to a message via the outer screen.

Though the battery is expected to be smaller on a Flip than regular Samsung phones, having a bigger and brighter outer screen means, you won’t open the phone most of the time to get work done and it will save on battery life.

Remember, Samsung has an ecosystem

One of the reasons why an Apple user sticks to the platform is the versatility and range of devices it has to offer. You buy an iPhone and then maybe a tablet and perhaps an Apple Watch. It’s a similar case with Samsung. In fact, Samsung has more than smartphones, smartwatches and tablets; there is an entire range of television and home appliances, most of which interact through SmartThings. It simply makes your life easier to move from one device to another belonging to the same company without glitches.

Remember, camera chops

In the past couple of years, Samsung has made massive progress in night photography with something it calls Nightography. Under sunshine, almost every smartphone camera produces good photographs but things get tricky at night and under uneven conditions. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra proved what a phone camera can do at night. Not just photography, the company has improved its video game quite a bit and all these things should help the next Galaxy Z Flip shine. Plus, there is the benefit of keeping the phone open halfway or propping it up on a table to shoot videos.

Remember, software upgrade

Samsung has been offering long-term software and security upgrades for quite a few years. It is matching what Google Pixel has to offer (at times it’s even better than the Pixel) and definitely higher than any Android device. The upgrades are coming on time and flagship devices get to enjoy these updates first. The next Z Flip and Z Fold phones will continue to enjoy this edge. Further, more upgrades mean you can hold on to the device longer, which is good for the environment.

Reasons to get a Flip smartphone

Makes a cool fashion statement

You can get most work done on the outside screen, so less time is spent doomscrolling

It’s pocketable

Offers innovative ways to take photographs

It folds in half, so it’s easy to hold

Pictures: The Telegraph