At just 3,700mAh, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 raised some concerns about how reliable its battery life can be in lasting its user for a full day.
But compared to its predecessor, the Z Flip3, the latest Flip phone still commands an obvious advantage in capacity compared to the older model’s 3,300mAh battery size. The Z Flip4 also enjoys the advantage of being armed with the new Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip that handles power management better than the older model.
In my review of the phone a while ago, I mentioned the need for users to be more disciplined in battery management and that they would be safer being around power sources, ready to charge at around 4 pm of the day, or at least carry a power bank.
To be fair, this is the standard practice for all smartphone users nowadays. But the way I used the Flip4 during the review period almost mandated a short pre-evening charge before I could safely make it through the night and it was thanks to how much I played games on it during that period.
Curious about how the phone’s battery life would fare under different trends of usage, I experimented with three different types of usage on three different days, each starting at 7.30 am with a full tank of battery, and cutting off at 5 pm to see how much juice is left. Here are the three types of days/usage I’ve experimented with the Z Flip4
- Just a normal day with short Netflix streaming at lunch hour, Socmed browsing, GPS for 15 minutes, Work stuff, music playback for 2 hours (+/-), photographing my lunch and snacks, and minor editing.
- Camera-heavy day with everything mentioned above but using the camera function more for videos and photography for one hour (on and off) and some editing on the phone.
- Game-heavy day which is everything in the first one but also gaming for 1-2 hours (on and off).
For all 3 scenarios, the adaptive refresh rates are left on and the same screen brightness level (30%) is applied. I can definitely get a better battery life if I opt for the Standard refresh rates capping it at 60Hz, but I’m not trying to prove how much juice I can squeeze out of the Flip4, rather, I want to know how many hours the phone can give me under comfortable experience circumstances.
The results aren’t surprising, to say the least. Obviously, the first type saved the most juice, followed by the second one, and the third came last. But what’s worth knowing is how much juice is left in the tank at 5 pm.
- The first type left me with an impressive 40% of battery life at 5 pm, guaranteeing the phone will last well into the night.
- The second type left the phone with 30%. Still not bad, and with some tricks available still to reduce the battery consumption even further like opting for the Power Saving Mode.
- The third type puts the user in a danger zone with the battery just barely above 15-20% depending on the games played. So make sure you have a power bank ready if you are in this category.
During the test period, the phone went from 7.30 am to 5 pm yielding the results above for each type of user. For the first and second types, the leftover amount of battery at 5 pm is enough to last the user till they get home.
Unsurprisingly, playing games on the phone proved to be the most battery-demanding of the three but it is worth noting that the Galaxy Z Flip4 wasn’t exactly designed with gamers in mind, even though the phone can handle them with ease.
The phone’s 25W Super Fast Charging function gives it a 0-50% charge in just 30 minutes. This is not super quick per se, but it is enough to give any Z Flip4 users a quick refill if they have an activity or a long evening planned.
Most of the people getting the Z Flip4 would be either type 1 or 2 which the phone would be fine in providing more than enough for them. Type 3 will have a harder time but as long as they carry a power bank or get a quick refill every now and then, then there’s no need to worry either.
With that said, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 doesn’t come with the sizeable battery capacity like most of the new phones today. But thanks to how well the phone’s 8+ Gen 1 Snapdragon chip is handling power consumption, the phone still holds its own and provide users with a full day of good use.
