Samsung's Next Galaxy Z Flip Could Get a Battery Bump and Bigger Cover Screen

 Plus, speculation on a new folding Pixel smartphone.

Photo: Florence Ion 

I liked Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 3 when I reviewed it last year, but its battery life was abysmal when compared to its non-folding flagship counterparts. Even with its built-in fast charging capabilities, the Z Flip 3's battery is one of the smallest you can get in a premium phone.

The good news is that there’s change on the horizon, at least according to a few reports from trusted leakers. Coming to us by way of 9to5Google, a Dutch site called GalaxyClub reported that the next-generation Z Flip 4 will have a 3400 mAh battery instead of a 3300 mAh.

Yes, the bump is menial, but it’s better than nothing, and it shows Samsung’s thinking about how to increase battery life while still keeping its folding phone pocketable. The Z Flip 4 will technically have two batteries to help accommodate this particular model’s opening and closing mechanism. But compared to the current crop of flagships, most of which hail 5000 mAh battery packs, the Z Flip 4's purported battery size is still very small.

The Z Flip 4 might also have a larger cover display, which will make those animated screensavers even more fun if the rumor rings true. Per XDA Developers, and according to Ross Young, another noted leaker and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), the Z Flip 4 will start with at least a 2-inch cover screen rather than the current 1.9-inch one.

Young also leaked details about Samsung’s other folding variant, the Z Fold 4. Specifically, he compared it to what he’s calling the “Google foldable”—that’s likely a reference to a foldable Pixel smartphone. The rumor mill had previously buzzed about a folding Pixel, but Young had reported last year that Google had outright canceled it once it realized it couldn’t compete with Samsung’s offerings at the same price point. It seems now like maybe a new, different folding Pixel is in the works.

“Z Fold 4 and Google foldable will have similar sized foldable displays,” tweeted Young, adding that Google’s cover display could be 5.8-inches and offer a wider aspect ratio than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4.

The Galaxy Z Flip 3 sold remarkably well for a flip phone and even surpassed 1 million units a mere two months after launch. The third-generation model improved on the form factor of its predecessors and bumped up the camera specs. But there was some concern over how folks would receive it, considering folding phones aren’t an entirely mainstream concept.

We don’t know when Samsung plans to introduce its next batch of foldables. We anticipate hearing more this summer, considering the last two generations of flip phones have had summer releases.