Galaxy Z Flip4 vs. Find N2 Flip: Our long-term Flip review

Conclusion

The two phones we have reviewed long-term on this occasion are similar novelties. They come with varying individual strengths and weaknesses, but both have the same fundamental issue. The novelty form factor is still just that - a novelty - and demands a lot out of you. You pay the price for it, for sure - in performance and smoothness, in battery life, in the number of cameras and quality of their shots, in the main screens' outdoor legibility, and even in sheer usability: needing to open up the phone for almost everything you want to do simply adds an extra step that doesn't exist with a 'normal' and 'boring' slab-style handset.

So if you're in the market for one of these, you definitely need to be fully aware of what you're signing up for. Sure, they look cute when they're closed, and they're smaller on two axes, but they're actually much larger on the Z axis than any 'normal' phone so even in this area, it's not all win - you also lose some. Are they still, for some people, more pocketable than mainstream flagships that cost about as much? Sure, but look at that list of compromises again. Are they all worth it for you? Really? All of them? Well, in that case, it's only a matter of choosing which of these two is the one for you, so let's get into that.

There isn't an obvious winner here because neither of these is very clearly head and shoulders above the other in all areas. The Flip4 wins when it comes to pocketability and ease of use with one hand, the flexibility of its hinge, the fingerprint sensor, the bug-free experience, the pace of updates, and ultrawide shots both during daytime and nighttime.

The N2 Flip's wins have to do with its box's contents, screen sizes, speaker quality and volume, face unlocking, the vibration motor, how invisible the crease is, smoothness, battery life and charging speed, launcher, dark theme customizability, and zoom shots during daytime and nighttime.

Every other category that isn't listed above as a win for either smartphone was a tie, but do keep in mind that all of these assessments are subjective. We went through all of them in minute detail in their respective chapters, so we'd advise you not to just skim through the lists of wins, as tempting as we know that might be.

The N2 Flip wins more categories, but here's the thing - you need to properly weigh them according to your needs. For someone who simply can not have any bugs show up on a daily basis, the Flip4 is clearly the one, despite its bad battery life, for example. Likewise, for someone whose main priority is endurance, first of all - why are you even considering this form factor?! - and second, if you are, you'll have to go with the N2 Flip. And so on.

We don't consider either of these mature enough for mainstream users, which is why, despite huge strides made by the 'flip' form factor in recent years, sales still trail behind slab-style flagships. Until the list of compromises shrinks significantly, we won't judge you for grabbing one of these for how interesting they look, for the novelty of the form factor, or a combination of both. But let's face it - that's why you picked them. It wasn't the brightness, or the performance, or the battery life compared to non-folding phones, it was especially the fact that they fold that way which drew you in.

We like it when companies experiment with new form factors, and we feel like this experiment still has a ways to go before it turns into a product category on par with the classic flagships. That's not a problem per se, it's just something to keep in mind. Maybe the next-generation flip-style foldables will address some of the shortcomings we've mentioned throughout this review. Will they fix all of them? That seems overly optimistic, but stranger things have happened in the mobile world, so let's wait and see.