Preliminary benchmarks on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 reveal two phones with powerful processors and the ability to run games at up to 120 frames per second—but the Z Flip 4 has a key flaw.
In my early tests (and yet to be checked with Samsung), the Galaxy Z Flip 4 throttles down harder than any other phone I've seen when under heavy load.
Good News: Blazing-Fast Processors
Both the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processors in all regions of the world, Samsung says. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is claimed to be 10% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in the Galaxy S22, and 30% more power efficient. (We'll see about the power efficiency in our battery test.)
According to the utility CPU-Z, the 8+ Gen 1 has four 2GHz cores, three 2.75GHz cores, and one 3.2GHz prime core. The Asus ROG Phone 6 Pro and OnePlus 10T also run the 8+ Gen 1.
On Geekbench, you see the boost, in which the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 phones perform better than the Galaxy S22+. On PCMark's application test, the improvement isn't as great, but it's still there. So yes, these phones are fast and powerful.
Bad News: Hitting the Throttle
Our CPU throttling test benchmark shows the Flip 4's Achilles' heel: The phone chokes down performance fast.
The Flip 4 and Fold 4 started with roughly the same performance on the 15-minute test. But after a few minutes, the Flip pulled way back, while the Fold didn't throttle nearly as hard. (It's worth noting the OnePlus 10T in Performance mode throttled less than any Samsung I tested.)
This bore out in a brief gaming session, too. I played five minutes of Alto's Odyssey, a light-duty casual game, followed by five minutes of Genshin Impact, a high-performance game. Genshin Impact was set to medium graphics and 60fps. I used WeTest PerfDog performance software to test frame rate and temperature.
Both phones played Alto's Odyssey at around 120fps. But the Flip heated up more than the Fold did during that session: While the Flip went to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, the Fold stayed a bit cooler at 98.6 degrees.
Piling on the stress of using Genshin, the Flip couldn't break 40fps and settled down to 38-39fps after six minutes, while the Fold moved between 40-52fps in terms of frame rates.
Meanwhile, PerfDog says the OnePlus 10T got an average of 57fps, and it was frequently hitting the 60fps game limit—something the Flip couldn't do at all, and the Fold could only do briefly. I plan to test this again before my final review.
Important to Remember: It's Not a Gaming Phone
These results just underscore something we knew about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 already: It's not a hard-core gaming phone. The weird aspect ratio when it's flipped open and held in landscape is part of that. But also, maximizing performance under heavy load just isn't the priority here. More to the point, the folding design presents Samsung with clear challenges in managing thermals.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4's design is perfect for photos, videos, social media, and almost all games. It won't overheat while watching videos, surfing the web, posting to Instagram, or playing Pokemon Go. Plus both the Z Flip and Z Fold 4 have terrific cellular reception.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has better performance under heavy load, however. That could mean better performance playing a game like Genshin Impact or PUBG Mobile, or recalculating a spreadsheet while on a video call.
I'm in the midst of my Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 reviews now and I'll have more details as I continue, so be sure to check back soon.