Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee has explained why Samsung’s next cellphone, the Galaxy Z Flip, isn’t worth its big price tag ahead of its February 14 release date.
The Galaxy Z Flip brings flip-phones back into the current day, optimizing the old style of fold-down cellphones with a folding touch screen that looks like a mixture of nostalgia and futuristic technology rolled into one.
A voice of expertise in the field given the amount of time and effort he has put into growing his YouTube channel around tech content, Brownlee has explained why he has mixed feelings about the Galaxy Z Flip – and why it might not be worth its near-$1400 price tag.
Marques starts off by saying that he’s only had the phone in-hand for about 30 minutes, so it may be that it’s hard to get a full idea of what to expect from it in that time, but the first thing he says is that it’s “easily one of the most polished and mature folding phones yet.”
But, he goes on to explain that it “has a long way to go to be something I would actually buy” because it still has flaws.
He compares the phone to another flagship product, the Motorola Razr, and seems to prefer Samsung’s output, but insinuates that the Razr is somewhat underwhelming itself, calling it a “flagship phone without flagship specs.”
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One of the first drawbacks that Brownlee mentions is the crease. Though he’s a fan of the use of ultra-thin glass over plastic, he says that the crease that comes as a result of folding the phone is visible from a lot of different angles and that when scrolling you’re “constantly going over it” with your finger.
He also says that the front-screen functionality (while folded) isn’t great in comparison to the Razr, and only really useful for checking the time and seeing notifications.
He does, though, explain that the hinge of the folding screen is “the best hinge he’s seen yet,” and that Samsung have obviously learned about how to get the hinge right, especially as it’s so important for folding phones.
Finally, Brownlee says that while it’s fascinating, and continues to discuss some of its stronger qualities, he’s not sure it’s worth the $1,380 price tag.
As far as folding phones go, it seems the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip might have the edge right now, but that cost could put a lot of people off making the switch.