Samsung took a risk on the original Note and it paid off big. Recently they took a risk on the Galaxy Fold with mixed results and now we have the Galaxy Z Flip. Is it worth the risk for you to buy? Watch as the answer to that question unfolds right before your very eyes. Much like I thought everyone should have a 70 inch OLED TV when I saw one at a private booth tour at CES years ago. Those panels though, were much too pricey for the average consumer but as all things do, in time the prices come down and the dope tech becomes dorm tech. Inexpensive tech to send your kid off to college with but that’s then. Let’s get back to now. No, this is a conventional smartphone with conventional smartphone awesomeness. It has all the bells and whistles you’d expect. We’ll come back to that in a bit. On the right side of the phone is the fingerprint sensor and volume rocker. No Bixby button on this phone. Bottom of the phone is where there’s a USB C-port, mono speaker and microphone. In Samsung’s own market materials they reference just how easily this device fits in pockets and purses. I’m thinking of women who go out may wear attire with no pockets and use a clutch. For them, a compact device like this is gold, I’d imagine. You’re definitely gonna wanna put a case on this phone. It’s just as slippery in hand. The case it comes with in the box does a better job of being a bit more tacky but not a bunch. I’d definitely check out one of the leather cases Samsung has to offer. Now, what you have in the Galaxy Z Flip really is a cool piece of new technology. It’s a leap forward. It’s a risk. And it isn’t perfect but what is? That and just when you’ve gotten used to an in-display fingerprint sensor on Samsung phones, this one does not include one. That said, face unlock is consistently fast and almost error free as is the side fingerprint scanner/power button. And since you can sit the phone down or lay it on its side, you’ll get your vertical or horizontal photos and video. Now, if you need some height you’re still gonna need to have that tripod or have to consider the infamous selfie stick but I know you’re a creative lot and you can figure this out sans poll. Flex mode also takes advantage of this Folder’s folding prowess by placing the photo controls at the southern pole of your phone. You’ll notice that when you have the phone sitting on the table top for a selfie that the controls don’t sit in the middle of the screen like they would if you had a standard smartphone. But when you fold the phone, the controls actually automatically adjust to sitting at the bottom of the screen. This is the only app which actually does that. Nice flex Samsung. Considering the form factor, there are some handy use cases here like video conferencing from the top half while having some notes open in the bottom half. And I’m sure you can imagine a bunch of others. So on average, I was getting a whole day’s worth of use out of the phone with closer to three hours screen on time. Despite Samsung marketing just how pocketable this phone is, it will be even more pocketable when the cost of ownership is more pocketbook friendly. Now let me be clear, I absolutely adore this form factor. I love the fact that I can have a near 7 inch screen in something that folds up as small as a wallet I used to keep in my back pocket. That is until I recognized the hip issues that my wallet was giving me and started carrying my wallet in my front pocket. Sidebar, how many of you who carry a wallet have moved to carrying your wallet in a front pocket and not in your back pocket? Holler at me in the comments below. But I digress. Much like those pants pockets, the utility of a phone like this is undeniable. It’s just that the steep cost is as well for most people. Thanks to what Samsung learned from the Galaxy Fold, I think the Z Flip is a phenomenal device and aligned with phenomenal potential. I can’t wait to see what the Z Flip 2 improves on this first gen unit. Personally, I’d like to have back under the display, the fingerprint sensor and the telephoto camera back into the mix.
