There is no doubt that Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 4 is one of the most exciting and fun-looking devices on the market today. The new model picks up where the Galaxy Z Flip 3 left off, adding a more durable display, a faster chipset, a sleeker design, a larger battery, and more. If you've grown bored of standard slab phones, this one is sure to get you excited about mobile phones all over again.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is Samsung's most refined flip phone ever, and while it may not have the best cameras or blazing fast charging speeds, it is one of the best-looking phones out there. But how does it compare to more traditional phones? Following up on our comparison of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 with the Motorola Edge Plus 2022, we're comparing it with last year's Motorola Edge (2021). Lets' find out.

Navigate this article:

• Specs
• Design & Display
• Cameras
• Performance
• Battery life and Software
• Which one should you buy?

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs. Motorola Edge (2021): Specifications

Design and Display

The design is the main selling point of the Galaxy Z Flip 4. At the heart of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is cutting-edge folding tech, which allows it to fold into a miniature phone and flip open to become a regular-sized phone. That means the phone can easily fit into pockets without taking up too much space and become a regular phone when you want to use it. While the Galaxy Z Flip 3 brought a big design overhaul, this year, it's all about smaller improvements and polish. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 looks identical to the Flip 3, save for a few subtle changes. The phone has got slightly smaller, aluminum side rails are now flat and glossy, and the satin finish means the phone isn't slippery as its predecessor. The durability has also been improved, with the new phone using the best-in-class Gorilla Glas Victus Plus casing and a 45% stronger interior display. The IPX8 water resistance is still there, but there's no dust protection. As always, you can pick up the new Flip in various colors: Graphite, Bora Purple, Pink Gold, and Blue. There's also a Bespoke Edition, which lets you mix, match, and customize the look and feel to your heart's content.

The Motorola Edge 2021 is understandably not as premium as the Z Flip 4, featuring a plastic back and plastic frame. It does have a water-repellent design, though, meaning it can withstand a water splash or drizzle. On the back, the phone features a triple rear camera setup while a punch-hole display dominates the front. The phone only comes in a single colorway: Nebula Blue.

On the Galaxy Z Flip 4, you get two displays. There's a 6.7-inch flexible display that can fold in half to save space. And then there's a 1.9-inch exterior display that lets you check notifications and widgets and access settings when the main display. The main display is an AMOLED panel, offering a 120Hz refresh rate and 1200 nits peak brightness.

Meanwhile, the Motorola has a flat 6.8-inch LCD panel with a whopping 144Hz refresh rate. We would have really liked if Motorola scaled back on the refresh rate a bit and fitted an OLED panel. But in any case, the LCD panel is of high quality and offers good colors and brightness.

---

Cameras

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 packs the same camera sensors (12MP main and 12MP ultra-wide) as the previous models, but they're now paired with brighter lenses and increased pixel size for better low-light performance. In addition, the phone also brings better image stabilization, faster autofocus, and the Nightgraphy feature from the Galaxy S22 series. As for selfies, there's a 10MP shooter on the interior display, and for even better results, you can also utilize the main cameras from the cover screen.

The Motorola Edge (2021) offers a triple-camera system featuring a 108MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. The main camera can shoot 4K videos at 30fps, and a super slow motion video feature lets you record at 960fps videos.

Galaxy Z Flip 4 camera samples

---

Performance, Battery Life, and Software

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 is powered by Qualcomm's latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, which brings 10% faster CPU speed and 30% better efficiency than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. As you would expect, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 performs like a true flagship in everyday activities, be it opening multiple apps, scrolling through long lists, or browsing with multiple tabs open. The only area where the Galaxy Z Flip 4 lags behind the curve is gaming. If you're planning to play games like Genshin Impact at high graphics settings for hours, you would be better served by something like the OnePlus 10 Pro or ROG 6 Pro.

The Motorola Edge (2021) is powered by Qualcomm's mid-range chipset Snapdragon 778G. But make no mistake, the Snapdragon 778G is a powerful performer, offering 40% faster CPU and GPU performance over the Snapdragon 768G. And when taking into account the ultra-fast 144Hz refresh rate and Motorola's near-stock and lightweight software experience, the phone should perform fast and fluidly in most tasks.

As for storage and memory, the Galaxy Z Flip gives you 8GB of RAM and three storage options: 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Meanwhile, the Motorola Edge (2021) only comes in a single variant: 8GB RAM and 256GB. Both phones don't offer microSD expansion.

The battery life has always been an issue for the Flip series, and while the Galaxy Z Flip 4 packs a larger 3,700mAh battery, it can't compete with Motorola Edge's 5,000mAh. With moderate usage, you can get a full day of use out of the Galaxy Z Flip 4. But if you're a heavy user or simply want a battery that lasts more than a day, the Motorola Edge (2021) is your best bet. The Motorola Edge also has an edge when it comes to the charging speed, offering 30W output compared to the 25W speed of the Z Flip 4. Not to mention, Motorola includes the charger inside the box, while Samsung doesn't.

On the software front, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 runs Android 12 out of the box, while the Motorola Edge (2021) ships with a near-stock version of Android 11. Software support is another major difference. For the Flip 4, Samsung has committed to four years of OS updates, whereas the Motorola Edge 2021 will probably not get updates beyond Android 12.

---

Galaxy Z Flip 4 vs Motorola Edge (2021): Which one should you buy?

There's a significant price difference between the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Motorola Edge (2021). The Flip 4 costs $999, while the Motorola Edge (2021) was launched a $699 but has come down to $349. However, Samsung offers some insane trade-in deals for the Z Flip 4, and it isn't unheard of to get the device at similar numbers after all the offers. So we do recommend checking out what offers are you getting when you trade in your older device, especially since Motorola doesn't make it as easy and seamless to do a trade-in against its own phones.

If you want a decent mid-range phone with 2-day battery life, a large display, and capable cameras without spending upwards of $400, the Motorola Edge (2021) is the perfect option. And for those who want a phone with a refresh rate greater than 120Hz, the Motorola Edge is your only option. But do note that it's more than a year old and ships with two generation-old Android version. If you like holding onto your phone for at least two to three years, we recommend looking at other cheap Android phones.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a stylish phone that's compact and stands out from the crowd, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Galaxy Z Flip 4. It doesn't have the best-in-class cameras or stellar battery life, but those are the sacrifice you have to make to get the best-looking phone.