I’ve had the privilege of taking photos with immoderate unthinkable smartphones this year. I’ve been wowed by the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s 10x zoom, marveled astatine the monolithic sensor and gorgeous portraits from the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, and I’ve seen the Google Pixel 6A execute the impossible: instrumentality crisp photos of a rambunctious toddler successful dim light. I could scope into my furniture drawer, instrumentality retired immoderate of these phones close now, and usage them arsenic my superior camera. But I shan’t! Right now, I’m rocking the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, and I’m present to archer you it’s a friggin’ joyousness to instrumentality photos with.

That’s right. The foldable you saw advertised with flashy colors and catchy popular euphony portion you were watching AEW Dynamite is my ride-or-die camera close now.

The camera hardware is wholly unremarkable. There’s a 10-megapixel camera connected the interior display, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a vaguely upgraded 12-megapixel main camera. Samsung’s promotional materials accidental the sensor is “65 percent brighter,” which is actual nonsense — a sensor collects light; it cannot beryllium “brighter.” What Samsung is trying to accidental is that the pixels are a spot bigger, truthful they mightiness cod airy a small better. Anyway, this is each to accidental that the crushed I’m digging utilizing the Z Flip 4’s camera doesn’t person a batch to bash with... the cameras.

It’s the folding action. I indispensable beryllium a sucker due to the fact that I’ve tried shooting successful each of the ways that Samsung’s commercials beforehand utilizing the Z Flip 4, and reader, I similar it. I propped the telephone unfastened successful its L signifier connected apical of the microwave and filmed myself making a latte. Why? I don’t know. But I sped it up successful the camera app, acceptable it to The King Khan & BBQ Show’s Love You So, and published it connected TikTok. To my utter despair, it’s been viewed implicit 200 times. I don’t cognize what I’ve truly accomplished here, but it was fun.

The Flip is besides an implicit golden excavation for generating contented for grandparents. I tin acceptable the Flip up connected a array — safely retired of the scope of grubby toddler hands — and movie the grandchild doing precious things, similar bashing cups unneurotic whilst yelling and farting loudly. Grandparents emotion that shit.

The Fold is adjuvant present due to the fact that I don’t person to a) effort to movie this selfie-style b) fiddle with immoderate different mechanism, similar PopSockets, to prop it up and c) I tin set the space precisely to get the framing right. When I’m done, I tin conscionable (gently) slam the happening unopen to halt signaling — though the extremity of your video clip will diagnostic the telephone closing successful connected itself, truthful possibly trim that spot out.

This is each precise fun, but if you don’t person a toddler and you person nary tendency to amusement disconnected your latte creation skills connected TikTok, past I astir apt haven’t convinced you that the Flip 4 camera is really good. But see this usage case: with the camera app unfastened and the telephone successful an L shape, you tin pat an icon to determination the representation preview to the little fractional of the screen. You’re shooting what’s close successful beforehand of you, but you’re looking down astatine the representation preview, benignant of similar an old-school twin-lens reflex camera.

This besides means you tin instrumentality pictures comfortably from a little space oregon sprout candid societal photos without sticking your telephone retired successful beforehand of your look and making everyone self-conscious due to the fact that you are evidently taking pictures of them. Please enactment that I’m not condoning being a creep oregon a weirdo to strangers; it’s conscionable bully to get photos of your friends without taking everyone retired of the infinitesimal truthful abruptly.

I’m not a large selfie-taker either, but it is bully to beryllium capable to usage the phone’s main cameras erstwhile I privation to instrumentality one. Sure, you person to constitute it connected the screen surface with an representation preview that’s the existent size of a postage stamp, but I’ll instrumentality that tradeoff for the overmuch amended representation quality, particularly if lighting conditions are dim. And who knows, possibly my location espresso barroom is truly going to instrumentality disconnected connected TikTok and I’ll request to up my selfie game. If it does, you tin stake I’ll person the Flip 4 astatine the ready.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge