Review | Oppo Find N2 Flip vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4: which folding phone is better?
- The launch of the Oppo Find N2 Flip ends Samsung’s monopoly on the international folding phone market, but is it better than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4?
- The Chinese model folds flat, has a bigger screen and better camera and battery; the Flip 4 has a superior processor, wireless charging and water resistance
Samsung’s monopoly on the global foldable phone market finally ended with the official international launch of the Oppo Find N2 Flip, a clamshell-style smartphone, that went on sale in the UK this week.
The Chinese-made phone will begin rolling out across Europe later this month and Asia in early March.
The mere presence of another option is big news for fans of foldable handsets, but how does Oppo’s new flip phone stack up against Samsung’s latest model, the Galaxy Z Flip 4?
Design and hardware
The physical form of the Find N2 Flip and Galaxy Z Flip 4 is similar; the Oppo phone is slightly larger, with a 6.8-inch foldable screen, and both fold at the midway point to become a compact squarish device.
The first big win for Oppo comes at the folding point: the Find N2 Flip’s display exhibits only a very faint crease, visible only at extreme angles, while Samsung’s Flip 4 has a deep groove that is noticeable when viewed even slightly off-centre.
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Oppo’s Flip also folds completely flat, while Samsung’s Flip leaves a slight gap. While both hinge mechanisms feel sturdy, and allow the devices to stay in place mid-fold (in an L shape), Samsung’s hinge gives more reassurance because it is officially rated IPX8 for water resistance, while Oppo’s hinge isn’t.
When both phones are folded, you make do with the secondary outer screen for basic tasks, and this is where Oppo scores another major win: its 3.26-inch outer screen is not only larger than Samsung’s 1.9-inch screen, it’s also in an upright position that is more natural for displaying content than Samsung’s horizontal screen.
Samsung comes out tops in the processor department, with the Flip 4 powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 compared to the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ that powers the Find N2 Flip. MediaTek’s silicon is still perfectly capable, but Qualcomm’s has a stronger GPU and can better handle graphically intensive tasks.
The Oppo phone’s camera system is arguably better, with a 50MP main camera featuring a 1/1.56-inch image sensor that’s larger than Samsung’s 12MP main camera with a smaller 1/1.76-inch sensor. A decent ultra-wide and selfie camera wrap up the camera systems for both phones.
Oppo’s Find N2 Flip has a larger 4,300 mAh battery and it charges faster at 44W, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4’s 3,900 mAh cell supports wireless charging.
It is a back-and-forth battle on the hardware front, but I’d give the slight edge to the Find N2 Flip for the better screen and main camera.
Software and features
Both phones run on Android 13 with each company’s Android UI on top. Not much to report here, as both are quite polished and run smoothly. Both UIs are fluid, with display refresh rates of 120Hz, and take advantage of the device’s folding form factor with cleverly designed UI elements that shift to the top half of the screen when the devices are in L-shape form.
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Performance and battery life
Samsung’s Flip 4 has a more powerful chip, but for general use performance feels similar. Qualcomm’s superior GPU really only matters for playing graphically intensive games like PUBG or Genshin Impact.
As mentioned, the Find N2 Flip has the better main camera hardware, so if you’re shooting with the main camera, Oppo’s phone usually produces better images or videos, particularly in low light. But Samsung’s ultra-wide images are slightly sharper.
Oppo takes the win for battery endurance, as its larger battery allows the phone to go about 13-14 hours on a single charge, which is at least an hour or two longer than the Flip 4.
Conclusion
Oppo’s Find N2 Flip is generally a better phone than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4, with a more visually pleasing display, stronger main camera performance, and longer battery life.
However, Samsung’s Flip 4 has a more powerful brain and could be more durable with official IP water resistance rating. I also think Samsung deserves points for originality.
As great as Oppo’s device is, it does feel like it studied what Samsung did, and merely made improvements on that. Sure, Oppo made an existing thing better, but Samsung did the original work.
The Oppo Find N2 Flip is already on sale in China for 5,999 yuan (US$875), which is significantly cheaper than the Flip 4’s 7,499 yuan price. In the UK, the prices are much closer, with Oppo’s foldable retailing for £849 compared to the Samsung model for £899.
Whichever phone you prefer, the fact there is a second option is great news.
