The Galaxy Z Flip is ‘technologically more mature’ than the Motorola Razr

The Galaxy Z Flip is technologically more mature than the Motorola Razr and will be a watershed moment for foldables, according to industry experts.

The Galaxy Flip was unveiled alongside the Galaxy S20 at Samsung’s Unpacked event late last night (UK time).

It’s the second foldable from Samsung, following on from the company’s previous Galaxy Fold. Its unique selling point is its foldable design, which lets the screen fold in on itself, in a similar way to the Motorola Razr, which launched earlier this year.

CCS Insight chief of research Ben Wood told Trusted Reviews, despite looking very similar to the Motorola Razr, Samsung’s Flip is technically a more impressive device.

“Comparisons are doubtless going to be immediately drawn between the Galaxy Z Flip and Motorola’s Razr re-boot. It’s hard to argue with the nostalgic appeal of the Razr, given the strong heritage of the brand and the industrial design, but in terms of technology maturity Samsung certainly has the edge having already delivered two iterations of the Galaxy Fold,” he said.

”Although Motorola beat Samsung to the punch with the re-boot of the iconic Razr phone, we believe Samsung has the scale to take the concept beyond an extremely expensive niche, despite the high price tag the Galaxy Z Flip unsurprisingly commands.”

Woods added that this is largely based off the lessons Samsung learned fixing the original Galaxy Fold‘s display.

“Samsung is unquestionably the most advanced player when it comes to smartphones with flexible displays. It learned some tough lessons with the first iteration of the Galaxy Fold, but subsequently created a product that has defied the critics, proved more robust than expected and has sold hundreds of thousands of units,” he said.

“The Galaxy Z Flip builds on that experience and it is immediately apparent that Samsung has gone to the next level in terms of hinge design and the finesse of the product, in particular the folding glass that protects the display.”

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The Galaxy Fold had a disastrous initial launch last year, with review units falling apart in testers hands and widespread reports of technical failures from early buyers.

Omidia principal analyst Daniel Gleeson mirrored Wood’s sentiment, suggesting the Flip is a more developed product that could carve a small, but important niche in the phone market.

“The headline stealer at the Samsung press conference was the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip – Samsung’s new flip phone with a foldable screen. The phone looks much more polished than last year’s Galaxy Fold […] While foldable devices will not become commonplace soon due to the high price points, they will definitely have a major impact on the market,” he said.

“Foldable will help reimagine what phones should look like and how consumers use them. Omdia expects that the radically different designs will entice consumers and once prices come down, there will be a major market for foldables.”

The Galaxy Flip will be available “in limited quantities” from 14 Februrary, carrying a hefty £1300 retail price. For a more detailed breakdown of its hardware and features check out our hands-on Galaxy Z Flip review.