Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 - One Device for All Your Hybrid Requirements?

Since working from home and then hybrid working came into vogue, we've all been re-evaluating our tech tools and probably wondering the same thing; "There must be a better way of doing it than this..."

Hands up if you've been lugging one, some, or all of the following items between office and home...

Work phone.

Laptop.

Modem/router.

Webcam/mic.

Keyboard.

Monitor.

Surely the technology now exists to pare that list down a bit? Indeed it does. Well, technically anyway.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 is a hybrid device uniquely suited to this new hybrid world.

By now most people have seen or at least heard of the Fold and the Flip. Samsung has been heralding the foldable form-factor as the new way of doing things and four generations in, it doesn't feel quite as new to those of us who've played with every Fold to date - but that's a good thing.

When I first laid my hands on the original Fold, I nearly dropped it because I was so worried about dropping it. It seemed a precious, delicate, almost experimental thing and I am an oafish, clumsy, almost barbaric thing - not a great combination.

Times have certainly changed as far as durability goes. The Fold4 is IPX8 water-resistant which is pretty nuts, given how many moving parts are involved in making this thing work. The side rails are tougher, the glass on the external display is harder than ever and the matte finish on the rear panel keeps unsightly fingerprints to a minimum and helps this previously super-slippery device feel only really slippery instead. (My review handset is an attractive Greygreen, but there are also Phantom Black and Beige variants available)

Alas, even the 2022 version of the Fold is still not really what you'd describe as "pocketable." When closed, it's definitely narrow enough to hold in one hand but it's still basically as thick as two "normal" handsets, taller than many and pretty darn heavy. In fact, I usually just stick my phone in the pocket of my running shorts when I take the dog out for a walk. With the Fold4, I certainly have to make sure my drawstring is tied tightly otherwise the weight of the phone could easily cause my pants to fall down.

Obviously, it's 100% more pocketable than a 7.6-inch tablet would be - and that's still the main point of the exercise.

But before we unfold, let's focus on that external display for a minute. Samsung has upgraded this 6.2-inch screen again - it now stretches right to the very top, bottom and sides of the Fold4's cover. It's a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel worthy of any flagship, with a fully adaptable refresh rate - up to 120Hz but dropping down automatically when not required to preserve battery life. This "adaptive" mode seems to work well and if you enable Developer Options in the settings menu, you can even choose to display the refresh rate so you can see exactly which apps and operations use more or less.

The problem is, this cover screen is now far too good. I don't know the exact percentages but I'd suggest I use the outer screen without unfolding the Fold about ninety percent of the time. How weird is that?

It's possible this is because I'm still training myself to take full advantage of the wonders that lie within. Samsung has been working hard to optimise its UI to take full advantage of the tablet-like screen real estate available on the internal display. The experience is now much more akin to a PC or laptop desktop - when you open an app, a taskbar of recently used and favourite apps appears at the bottom, meaning you can quickly jump from one to the other. Of course, split screen for multiple apps works a treat and you can pair apps to open that way from home-screen shortcuts. 

Many apps have now been modified to display in two halves - not just the camera app which can display controls below the fold and your live preview side-by-side with your recent shots and videos above. Things like the settings menu now displays in two columns. Many Microsoft Office 360 apps work in this side-by-side mode as well. This is productivity personified. Or something.

Weirdly, Instagram is still a bit of a fail, stubbornly refusing to reformat itself to the much wider, unphone-like display. Instead, your feed simply presents itself in the middle of the screen with huge blank spaces on either side. Meanwhile, apps like Netflix totally nail it, instantly reformatting to the big display or swapping to a wider, shorter aspect ratio if you half-fold the device for standalone viewing. I guess the app developers will all get on board eventually.

There are so many great mobile video editing apps around these days and the internal display on the Fold4 certainly provides an excellent palette for that kind of creativity. Like this year's Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Fold4 is also compatible with a specially-designed S-Pen stylus. Unlike the S22 Ultra though, the S-Pen does not yet slot inside the Fold4 itself - you'll need Samsung's purpose-built case for that. Maybe next year.

Before you get too excited, I have to report there's not much improvement on the crease front - you can still see it and feel it but as I've commented in my previous Fold reviews, you really do forget it's there after a while.

The other area of major improvement is photo performance. Until this year I'd always been confused by Samsung's reluctance to include a genuinely premium camera module in such an expensive device - doesn't the highest-end of all high-end phones deserve a high-end camera too? Well this year they've got it pretty right; a 50MP + 12MP + 10MP tri-lens configuration on the back, including 3x optical zoom. A 10MP selfie-cam at the top of the cover display and a 4MP under-display camera on the internal screen.

The external cameras are great - offering most of the same features as the other Samsung flagships; great app, good video stabilisation and vastly improved low-light or "nightography" performance. That under-display camera is still kind of quirky though. It's a major improvement on last year's effort; the 2021 pics and vids weren't really of useable quality. The 2022 effort certainly provides good enough video for your average online staff meeting. I just don't fully understand why Samsung is so married to this concept - if you haven't seen it yet, the camera works by peering out of the display through an area on the screen where the pixels have been spread out - this is more visible with some colours than others but my real question is; why is it where it is? If you're holding the Fold4 so the crease is running vertically, the under-display camera is a the top-centre of the right-hand half - so three-quarters of the way across the screen.

I get that they can't have it under the fold but this display rotates for almost every app - why wouldn't you put the camera in the middle of the long side, similar to a laptop? - especially if you have the phone half-folded to make use of the split-screen controls. This way you'd be more likely to be looking the camera right in the eye, rather than staring off to the side.

Of course, for quality selfies you can still do the classic Samsung foldable trick; use the primary shooter with your preview on the external display.

Some of my colleagues have complained about mediocre battery life with the Fold4 but my experience has been the complete opposite. I suspect they've been using the Fold for gaming a lot more than I have - something that's more appealing than ever now you can stream Xbox games via Microsoft's GamePass and cloud-gaming service. That means more screen time, pairing a Bluetooth controller and probably wireless earbuds too - all that will drain any battery. As for me, the Fold4 still shows about 70% charge most nights when I go to bed.

As you can tell, I'm generally extremely impressed with this device. The displays are a modern miracle, the cameras have been upgraded dramatically and the UI is receiving more optimisations with every update. There's only one thing stopping me from writing this review with it; even with a 7.6-inch display, I can't force myself to use an on-screen keyboard. Sure, I could pair a physical, Bluetooth set of keys but that wasn't really the point of the exercise, was it?

That said, I'm constantly amazed at many other people's ability to tap out long missives on-screen and if you're one of those talented mini-typers, it's possible the Fold4 truly will fulfil all your mobile computing needs.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4.

Apple iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max - Apple Makes Another Run at Smartphone Supremacy

I was asked a very interesting question the other day; "So what is the best phone right now?"

Seems like a simple thing to ask - especially of someone who spends all his time fooling around with as many of the latest handsets as he can set his hands on. But as I was about to answer I found myself pausing... there are a lot of phones out there. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and every user has different requirements.

What matters most to you? Camera performance? Durability? Battery life and charging options? Do you want lots of RAM and a super-fast processor? Or does it just need to be a cool colour?

Oh, and budget is probably the major factor, of course.

See how quickly a simple question can get complicated?

To make matters worse, Apple has four new phones in the mix...

Not that I'm complaining. I've talked about the sheer pleasure of unboxing a brand new Apple device before and that experience has not dimmed in the slightest with the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Sublime is the adjective that springs to mind when you first unseal these fine examples of precision engineering.

The first feature to really catch my eye was the back glass; it has a matte, fingerprint-resistant finish and on my review units is coloured Space Black on the Pro and Apple's new colour for 2022, Deep Purple on the Pro Max. Both have a luminescence to them - an effect I was first aware of when Apple brought out its green iPhone 13's. The Deep Purple is particularly fetching - in some lights it seems almost black while its matching stainless steel rail around the edge is a little lighter. This is not an in-your-face colour choice. Instead, it exudes luxury and elegance.

That being said, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is a weighty beast indeed. Bear in mind; the two Pro models are essentially the same phone apart from screen and battery size. However, that 6.7-inch display and larger battery mean not only is the Max bigger but it also weighs in at 240 grams over the Pro's 206 grams. To call it a brick would diminish how beautiful it is although it does kind of feel like a brick when you pick it up in one hand.

For many of you, that digital workout might well be worth it for the extra screen real estate. Unlike some other, long and skinny large-screen handsets, the Pro Max maintains the aspect ratio of the 6.1-inch Pro, so not only is it longer, it's wider too. And this year we see Apple ditch the notch around the selfie-cams in favour of a more subtle cutout instead. This means an even more usable display on both devices which is akin to sensory overload, given the exquisite nature of these Super Retina XDR screens, with their oh-so-responsive ProMotion abilities, offering refresh rates up to 120Hz.

A big talking point with the iPhone 14 range has been Apple's decision to reserve its new A16 Bionic chip for the two Pro models, while the standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are powered by 2021's A15. I touched on this in my iPhone 14 review, quick to point out the performance of this "vanilla" model still blasts most other comers out of the water. That said, you can only imagine how thrilling it is to put these Pro versions through their paces. The A16 Bionic features a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. I don't really understand what that means in much the same way as I don't really know what any of the individual components of my car's engine do. What I do know is these phones simply fly - from gaming to filming, to editing to downloading, installing and launching apps, as usual for iPhone, everything just works. With these phones though, it all works instantly.

Back to that new cutout at the top of the screen. By now if you've been following any iPhone news at all, you've probably heard about or even seen the new Dynamic Island interactive widget. This transforms the otherwise blank oval surrounding the front-facing camera and face sensor into something a lot more interesting to look at and perhaps something genuinely useful too. The list of apps and functions capable of utilising the Dynamic Island is exploding as we speak but mostly it's about giving you quick access to things that are running in the background - for example, audio playing, timers running or even active phone calls.

When these sorts of activities are happening, you'll see animated icons appear on either end of the Dynamic Island. A long tap on it will likely bring up a useful temporary control widget at top of the screen, so you can play, pause or skip - or maybe take your caller off hold. A short tap will instantly open the app involved - all without any extra swiping or other navigation. It's definitely more than just a gimmick and I've already found myself using it quite a bit - almost intuitively - especially to control my music and podcasts.

Another new feature Apple has introduced to the 14 Pro's is one we've seen on other phones and devices for years; Always On Display. Personally, I can't think of anything worse than having my screen on all the time and I've never understood why people love it so much. But then, I was a very early smartwatch adopter so I'm used to getting notifications on my wrist, without having to look at my phone at all. Apparently other (normal?) people like the ability to see what's coming and going on their phone with a quick glance at the lock screen.

Although late to the party on this one, Apple being Apple has jumped on board AOD with both feet and has decided it doesn't need to be a limited, black-and-white, simplified version of the lock-screen. AOD on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max means full-colour, fully operational, just significantly dimmed to preserve battery life. Not only that, in combination with the latest iOS, there are some fun effects you can play around with if you set a portrait photo as your wallpaper - placing it behind the clock and widgets when the phone's asleep, bringing the picture to the foreground when you wake it up.

I've read varying reports on how much the new AOD feature affects battery life and that's how it is with battery life - how long is a piece of string? All I know is the battery life on these two phones is easily the most impressive of any iPhone I've used to date and outshines quite a few flagship phones from other manufacturers too.

I highlighted Apple's latest crash-detection technology in my recent Apple Watch Series 8 review and rest assured, you get all those features here as well.

But camera performance is likely to be the main reason most users choose to spend a few hundred dollars extra for an iPhone Pro and again, these handsets a truly another step ahead. There are significant upgrades across the board - from the Ultra Wide camera with a sensor almost twice as big as last year's - to the 3x Telephoto lens that now offers a vastly improved zoom experience, especially now Apple has released an update to remedy the widely publicised issue some early customers were experiencing with third-party photo apps allegedly causing the camera module to rumble, grind and shake. 

I never experienced this, although I encountered a different frustration at my daughter's university graduation last week. As you can imagine, this is an event where photos are pretty important, so it was rather alarming when the camera app froze completely on more than one occasion. This happened when I was attempting to zoom in across the poorly lit audience at the indoor arena hosting the event. Each time I had to restart the camera app to continue shooting. Luckily, it didn't seem to affect the more well-lit pics of the action on stage. I'm also confident the next update will sort this niggle too.

Some fairly extensive online research has suggested a few other people have run into similar issues at other indoor events. It seems odd because all other aspects of the camera performance are truly remarkable - including low-light shooting thanks to what Apple calls its Photonic Engine. As I understand it, this uses all the information it can get its hands on; multiple images and even uncompressed footage to produce brighter, more colourful shots than ever.

There's also a new Action Mode which takes the iPhone 14 Pro's digital stabilisation to another level.

The front camera has been zooped up too - now capable of autofocus and also utilises the aforementioned Photonic Engine for improved low-light selfies.

I could go on and on. Weirdly, just as with the base iPhone 14, the Pro and Pro Max have also been accused of "not being that much better" than their predecessors. Again I'll point out, most users aren't professional phone critics who update their handsets every five minutes. Besides, I've just spent about 1500 words (far, far too many) discussing the many and varied ways these phones have in fact been improved.

Are they the best phones money can buy? At around the NZ$3000.00 mark for the highest spec, 1TB models, you'd certainly hope they're right up there. They're definitely the best phones Apple has ever produced and that's saying something.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

There's Really No Reason Not to Love this Phone

Ah, the perils of tech journalism... not that I'd ever dare to refer to myself as a journalist. More like an enthusiast. Let's just say I do move in similar circles though.

Anyway, the peril any journalist faces is becoming so engrossed in their core subject matter, they forget most other people aren't.

One of the primary reasons I started writing gadget reviews was FOMO - I just couldn't stand the thought of missing out on the latest tech - in fact I still can't. I'm obsessed with getting my hands on each new generation of phone or earbud or TV or whatever. I don't really know why, it's just my thing.

But when I write about "my things" I have to force myself to remember they're not necessarily other people's things. While I change my phone every couple of weeks, most research indicates "normal" people are only likely to upgrade every two to three years - and recently that interval has been growing even longer.

Which is why I've been somewhat taken aback at the level of criticism directed at this year's base-model iPhone...

Although the iPhone 14 arrived a week or so earlier than many predicted, that was about the only cat that hadn't been let out of the bag prior to its launch.

For months I'd been reading rumours about Apple making an unprecedented decision to split up its base and pro models by reserving the new-generation A16 Bionic chip for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max while recycling 2021's A15 chip for the cheaper iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. What a shock. 

Perhaps even more shocking is most of those articles neglected to point out there were two different chips used last year too; it's just they were just both called A15. The '21 Pro version boasted better graphics performance which also meant more powerful camera capabilities and it's that A15 Bionic running the iPhone 14.

This means a noticeable uptick in gaming and photography before you even touch the rest of the phone. The physical camera sensors have also been tweaked and combined with the processor boost, the photography experience on the iPhone 14 feels much more like what the pro models offered last time around.

Low light is becoming less of a barrier - which is just as well as many other manufacturers have made indoor and night shooting a priority too, often extremely successfully. The good news on the iPhone 14 is the selfie camera also works much better in the gloom. That front-facing cam now has full auto-focussing abilities too, not just a feature reserved for Cinematic mode on the primary shooter. This means group selfies or perhaps shots from a distance set with a timer are more likely to have you as the main subject, instead of the table in front of you or the building behind.

Back round the back, the main camera now offers Action mode - Apple's latest digital stabilisation tech to eliminate a lot of the wobble and bobble from the vids you take when you're out and about.

So you get all this extra functionality - and a slight bump in battery life too. This is all mostly thanks to that chip - that's right, the "same" one as last year. Although it isn't.

More importantly, I'd like to point out something so many tech critics often fail to; even if the iPhone 14 was exactly the same as the iPhone 13 - which as we've already established, it isn't - it would still be a great phone.

Features like its ceramic shield screen and MagSafe wireless charging and accessories are still totally unique in the market and are amazing. In fact, I've become so enamoured with MagSafe over the last couple of years I get withdrawal symptoms when I have to review another handset without it. Being able to magnetise my wallet onto my phone or my phone onto its car charger isn't just super practical, it's pretty cool too.

There's also an argument to be made that the A15 chips were so advanced you could probably keep putting them in next year's phones and they'd still outperform most of the competition.

Above all else, don't forget the Apple ecosystem. There are just so many apps I use on a daily basis that work much better on an iPhone because that's the device they were designed for. Not to mention how seamlessly you can connect to other Apple devices like Apple Watch and AirPods - although I'll highlight more on those in future reviews.

These days, Apple finally seems to be more amenable to connection with other devices as well and the very latest Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity on the iPhone 14 is further evidence of this.

And did I mention it now comes in blue and purple? (Along with the more traditional Midnight, Starlight and (PRODUCT)Red)

This year, the really good news is, if you like a big screen, the new iPhone 14 Plus model means you can upsize from 6.1 to 6.7-inches without having to stretch the budget to Pro Max prices.

Look, was the iPhone 12 a great phone? Yes. And it still is. Was the iPhone 13 a great phone? Yes. And it still is. Is the iPhone 14 dramatically different to either of those phones? Maybe not. So what does that mean? Yes, it's a great phone. Again. If it's been longer than two years you'll definitely appreciate the difference and if you're coming from another platform entirely, you may be surprised by just how good iOS has got. I know I was.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on Apple iPhone 14 and Apple iPhone 14 Plus.

That Often Neglected Other Camera

You know, when I think about it OPPO has never let me down.

Far from it in fact. From the first OPPO handset I tried, I was immediately impressed with its style and honestly blown away by its camera performance.

Over the years, time and again OPPO has pushed the barriers of phone camera abilities - certainly it was an OPPO device on which I first experienced the ingenuity of a periscope lens, enabling optical zoom functionality within the limited physical confines of a virtually flat device.

Perhaps even more impressively, OPPO seems committed to bringing many of its innovations - both in design and technological breakthroughs - to its mid-range handsets, meaning consumers on a budget can also access better-than-average photo performance.

This year it's more of the same... Which means more difference, yet again setting OPPO's mid-tier offering apart from the pack...

First things first; the Reno8 5G is a very groovy looking phone - especially in the Shimmer Gold variant I've been supplied with. For several generations now, OPPO has come up with some totally unique, unibody designs that really set them apart from the rest of the pack - and it's no different with the Reno8. I've never been a massive fan of the big camera bumps most high-end phones seem to sport these days but OPPO keeps managing to make these much more streamlined with its seamless, curvy one-piece rear panel. It really does "Shimmer" too - it's a hard effect to capture in photos or on video but it's almost prismatic. Best of all, despite the shimmer it's still a matte finish so no issue with fingerprints ruining the effect. I'm not sure exactly how shimmery the Shimmer Black option is but I'm sure it's almost as eye-catching.

Flip the Reno8 over and you're presented with a 6.4-inch FHD AMOLED display - big without making the whole phone too oversized to fit comfortably in one hand. It's covered by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 - pretty tough. Unfortunately, the factory fitted screen protector doesn't seem to be quite so tough and I've already managed to accumulate quite a few scratches in the week or two I've been using the phone.

As far as using the display goes - great. It's bright, it's sharp and its 90Hz maximum refresh rate is a good selling point in this price range. Using the Reno8 is a fluid, smooth operation. When I reviewed its more premium cousin, the Find X5 Pro earlier this year I remarked on how much more refined the ColorOS interface seems to be these days - lots of features and settings tweaks without confusing and unnecessary options. The same story applies to the Reno8. Add to that 8GB of RAM, a very generous 256GB of storage (that's standard issue for this handset) and a fairly grunty MediaTek Dimensity 1300 CPU, and you've got a pretty powerful wee beastie in your pocket, once again belying its sub $1000 price-tag.

Another area where OPPO often sets the standard is battery life and charge times. Again, the Reno8 steps up to the plate here. Not only am I always left with more than 50% juice left in the tank by the end of the day, there's an 80W SUPERVOOC charger included in the box. I don't know if you've ever seen SUPERVOOC in action but it's pretty freaky seeing the charge numbers ticking up right before your eyes. Sadly, no wireless charging option though - obviously one compromise OPPO conceded to keep this phone affordable.

They haven't made too many others though; the in-display fingerprint sensor is fast and reliable - but then so is face unlocking. While other mid-tier offerings are often bulky and heavy, the Reno8 is super slim and weighs in under 180 grams.

But of course the main event here, as it usually is with most OPPO phones, is camera performance. The Reno8 proudly puts the emphasis on low-light photography and pretty much nails it - not just with the two giant 50MP Sony sensors on the back but also with the front camera; a 32MP Sony that capitalises on OPPO's new generation RGBW technology to bring light and colour to even the most terribly-lit selfies. The selfie camera often misses out on some of the most groundbreaking enhancements but not this time. OPPO claims it captures 60% more light than other RGGB sensors and reduces noise by a crazy 35% more. All I know is I can no longer hide in the shadows.

Video shot from either front or rear arrays is also quite amazing in low light - the Reno8 boasts some pretty decent stabilisation skills too. The upshot is a very capable vlogging all-rounder - as advertised.

I don't know why I'm always so surprised when a new OPPO phone turns out to be amazing - they usually are. In this case I guess I thought the Reno8's low light promise - especially low light selfies - was more hyperbole than fact. And yet, from what I've seen, OPPO has delivered again.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the OPPO Reno8 5G.

Samsung Galaxy Served Three Ways: Part I

In 2019 Samsung flipped the smartphone market on its head when it launched the first Galaxy Fold; a whole new form-factor complete with its groundbreaking, unheard of, folding screen technology.

In that instant, an entirely new technology category was born; foldables. The following year Samsung added the Flip to this innovative new range while others still rushed to catch up.

Now, in 2022 it feels like Samsung has been making these things for ages. While there are a few other foldables for sale in other parts of the globe, Samsung's polished, tested and evolved offerings are still the only options widely available here in New Zealand. And just to prove Samsung is also a leader when it comes to the development of smartwatches and true-wireless earbuds, it launched new versions of these when the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4 were launched recently as well.

Lucky for me, I got to have a play.

That's to say, I'm currently using the Z Flip4, Galaxy Watch5 and Galaxy Buds2 Pro - hopefully the new fold is also in the post.

For now, I'm well immersed in the latest Samsung ecosystem and today I'll focus on the Flip.

Last year's iteration of this oh-so-pocketable foldable really surprised me. Before trying it I'd thought it was a bit of a gimmick - a sort of Samsung fan-service to a retro idea of an old-school clamshell phone. A folding phone for the sake of it, as opposed to the much larger Fold, which basically transforms from a phone into a tablet.

I soon discovered the Flip to be much more useful than that. Not only was it compact enough to fit into absolutely any pocket I needed it to, it turned out to offer a host of features that were genuinely productive - in many cases making the Z Flip3 a far more capable phone than many other more conventional flagships.

For example, the small exterior screen made checking and dismissing notifications a much more streamlined activity - no need to open up the phone and get bogged down in your emails just because that daily-deal from the pet shop you subscribe to has just come through.

The fact you could also use that cover screen to preview photos taken with the primary camera was also a bit of mind-blowing genius. Shooting selfies with the rear-facing camera? What a golden age we were entering.

But for all its innovation and bold design choices, the Flip3 wasn't perfect. Camera performance was more akin to that of a mid-range phone than a that of a high-priced flagship and battery-performance was kind of underwhelming too.

So it's no surprise Samsung has taken steps to remedy both those issues with this year's Galaxy Z Flip4.

To look at, it would be quite a challenge to spot the difference between the 2021 and 2022 models - they're extremely similar in size and shape although to my mind the new Flip has slightly sharper, more modern-feeling edges. It comes in Graphite, Pink Gold, Blue and this year's signature colour, Bora Purple. Samsung refers to these new shades as "the new neutrals" and I'd agree, they're colourful without being offensively garish.

Part of the point of owning a handset as unique as the Flip4 is the show-off factor; I won't deny it's fun when people remark on your crazy phone when you pull it out to take a photo or pay at the checkout. What Samsung has really nailed with this device is enough style to balance out the quirkiness.

There's an element of practicality here too; the Flip4's frame and hinge is protected by Armor Aluminum, the glass is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ and it's rated IPX8 for water resistance, which is kind of amazing for a folding phone. However, unlike Samsung's more conventionally shaped flagships, there's no dust-resistance rating. This is somewhat ironic as I've found every time I open the Flip4 the screen is usually covered in dust... or fluff... or... whatever it is that floats around in pockets. I think it's something to do with the slight gap that's left between the two halves of the screen, even when fully closed. It seems to be a dust magnet.

That internal display is 6.7-inches when unfolded (rated for at least 200,000 folds, by the way) and like the screens on most Samsung handsets, it's sublime. The Dynamic AMOLED 2X FHD+ display features a 120Hz refresh rate; combine that with the unstoppable power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor and the performance is gorgeously fluid, fast and reliable.

The only issue I encountered was the gyros being slow to kick in to rotate the screen from landscape to portrait, or vice versa. This didn't happen every time I used the phone but often enough to make me wonder if in fact my particular review device had been dropped or something before it got to me.

Other than that, I've talked at length about my admiration for Samsung's One UI operating system, built on top of Android 12. I still consider it to be the best interface out there; fast, intuitive and with all the options, settings and sub-settings you could wish for.

And that couldn't be more true once you open the camera app. This is where you'll notice a major upgrade from last year's effort. While the physical sensors themselves have only been slightly tweaked, the difference in photo quality is night and day - literally.

Samsung likes to refer to its night-shooting ability as "Nightography." This is a photo I quickly snapped leaving a party the other night. It was so dark I couldn't really see what I was shooting - that's why I took the photo. Someone said, "Is that a shipwreck?" which was weird, because we were in a car park. However, as the photo clearly shows, it was indeed a shipwreck.

As I've already mentioned with the Flip3, you still have the ability to line up selfies with the primary camera using the cover screen preview - and this now benefits from Samsung's auto-framing function, an absolute godsend when you're vlogging. It goes without saying there are new, customisable clock faces for the 1.9-inch cover display, there's new widget functionality from the smaller screen and you can access, preview and swipe away all your notifications without opening your phone.

Admittedly, I've found I haven't used the cover screen much as I'm also reviewing the Galaxy Watch5, which means I deal with a lot of that stuff on my wrist instead.

Still, just as with the Flip3, the Z Flip4 has proven to be much more useable than you might initially suspect. As it always has been able to, FlexCam mode means a tripod free method of shooting photos, selfies and videos. By leaving the Flip4 half open on a flat surface you can shoot pics and vids from a distance - perhaps using your paired Watch5 as a remote? (But I'm getting a review ahead of myself)

What really caught my eye this time round is the way Flip users themselves have evolved how the device can be operated. In FlexCam (half-open) mode, if you turn the phone sideways you can hold it like a handycam (Google it, Zoomers). This turns one half of the folding display into your viewfinder and positions the controls on the other half, right next to your thumb, making shooting and sharing video more fun than ever.

And to keep the fun coming, the Flip4 now has a bigger, faster-charging battery. The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip is more power efficient too, so that should shut up last year's battery critics once and for all. My only niggle here is because the phone folds in half, I'm not always sure exactly where the wireless-charging receiver is positioned when I'm using my usual wireless-charging accessories - particularly my car cradle. I've found I have to clamp the Flip on in a slightly precarious position to establish a stable wireless connection.

If that's my only criticism, this must be a pretty solid device. No question about it. And that's before you get into the growing range of crazy cases available, featuring rings and straps to help you keep hold of your new favourite tech toy.

Yet, as I've rediscovered, this is so much more than a mere toy. The Z Flip4 has matured into a genuine flagship powerhouse - at a far more reasonable price than many other high-end options.

    

Click here for more information on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4.

So Many Phones. How to Choose?

I don't have the stats to back it up but I have the feeling Samsung is absolutely killing it in the mid-range smartphone market.

And the strategy is so simple, it's brilliant; flood the market with a model for every price point.

And I mean all of them - from the $199.00 Galaxy A03 right up to the Galaxy A73 at $849.00 - there's a total of six new A-Series handsets for Kiwis to choose from this year.

This would be an extremely long (but totally compelling) review if I ran through the pros and cons of every single one, so I've chosen two of the likely biggest sellers to give you a bit of an overview...

The Samsung Galaxy A23 is NZ$499.00 and the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is NZ$749.00 - but there are plenty more differences than just a $250 price gap.

The first is in the name; note the "5G" is missing from the A23. This is not to say a 5G model doesn't exist, just for some reason it's not widely available in New Zealand. No major issue really although last year's A22 is available in a 5G variant - for fifty dollars more than the base model. Perhaps Samsung has found customers in that sub-$500 bracket aren't as likely to shell out for the extra data 5G speeds can easily cost you. Who knows? The point is, if you care about 5G, in 2022 you'll need to move a little further up the A-Series line.

The other immediately noticeable difference is the rear panel - polycarbonate for both handsets but a much glossier, cheaper-feeling iteration on the A23 which I found greased up with smudges and fingerprints rather easily. Meanwhile, the matte finish of the A53 feels more high-end - especially combined with the matching metal side-rails. Both phones come in black, white, blue and peach (the A53 colours are actually all "Awesome" apparently). I really dig the (Awesome) white and silver combo my A53 review unit came in. After playing with a peach A23, I'm not as convinced this is the colour of the future.

As you can see from the pics, you're never short of cameras with either of these phones - both sporting quad-rear-facing arrays. Obviously, the details are in the fine print; camera quality is usually the primary differentiator between price brackets and although both devices offer main, ultra-wide, depth and macro cameras, the A53 absolutely slays its budget sibling in terms of hardware. For example; the main sensor on the A53 is 64MP while the A23's is good-but-not-great at 50MP.

The difference is even more stark when you flip the phones over; an impressive 32MP selfie-shooter VS just 8MP. And yet...

When using both devices the camera experience is quite similar. This is due to a basically identical operating system, Samsung's sublime One UI 4 - the same OS you'll find on even the tippy-toppiest Galaxy flagships. Obviously the raw picture quality suffers somewhat with the A23's less powerful cameras but in terms of effects, filters and other options, the camera app is just as user-friendly and consistent as ever. I'm not sure you want to be attending too many video meetings through the eyes of an 8MP selfie-cam but I certainly managed to click off a number of Instagrammable shots with the A23 - the inclusion of the depth-sensor makes for quite decent bokeh portraits.

Meanwhile, photos from the A53 were pretty decent all round. Some people (nerds) complain about Samsung's tendency to oversaturate the colours a little but when you're capturing a rainbow, surely you need a bit of colour?

The other big factor when considering how much to pay for a phone is processing power. (Well, it should be a factor, anyway - too many people don't really consider it and suffer buyers' remorse as a result). Here, there's no contest at all between the two devices and I'd argue the superior performance of the A53 is worth the extra $250 alone. Generally, other than when first powering up the A53, I found using it to be a snappy, smooth, reliable experience. Apps opened smartly, navigation was fluid and both the under-screen fingerprint sensor and face-unlock worked promptly and dependably.

On the other hand, I encountered many stutters and some crashes when pushing the A23 a bit harder. I also came up against a fingerprint problem. The A23's sensor is under the power button, on the side. Usually I actually prefer this kind of sensor - your thumb is generally already on it when you pick up the phone. But for some reason my A23 kept thinking I was trying to unlock it with my fingerprint when I wasn't even holding it - as a result disabling biometrics after the five failed attempts I hadn't actually made. We've all heard horror stories of people locking themselves out of their phones when they've forgotten their passwords so I quickly disabled the fingerprint login to avoid such a disaster.

Don't let me give you the impression the A23 is unusably slow and clunky; it's not as bad as all that. Its 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage is certainly nothing to be sneezed at. It's just that the A53 works so well, it makes the A23 seem quite sluggish by comparison.

However, some comparisons slant slightly the other way; the A23's screen is just a smidge larger; 6.6-inches over 6.5 on the A53. Display quality isn't quite there - the A53 offers the extra smoothness of 120Hz Super AMOLED, although the A23's 90Hz FHD+ TFT screen is perfectly watchable too.

And while both phones sport healthy 5000mAh batteries, my impression was the A23 actually lasted quite a bit longer on a full charge - no doubt due to its less demanding graphics and processing requirements.

While neither phone charges wirelessly (that's actually a deal-breaker for me) the A53 does do fast charging. The more expensive phone also comes with an IP67 water and dust-resistance rating and has stereo support unlike the much tinnier-sounding mono speaker on the A23.

There are plenty of other, more subtle, hidden enhancements the A53 brings to the table that more than justify its higher asking price. In saying that, I've been surprised how similar it feels to use both these phones for my every-day requirements; playing podcasts in the car, listening to music via bluetooth earbuds, pairing with the Samsung Galaxy Watch4, checking emails, clicking off the odd pic here and there, tracking parcels, running my smart-home devices - all these things worked faultlessly on both phones. They both have a modern look to them, great battery life and large displays.

I guess the point is, rest assured there's probably a Galaxy A-Series to suit you. Did I help you decide which one? Maybe not. Sorry about that.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy A23.

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

Make Two Compromises and Get a Half-Price Flagship

I am not an experienced iPhone user. In fact, I've only really spent a lot of time using them since the iPhone 12 - the previous generation to the current crop.

However, there is one other model I've had a bit to do with; the iPhone 8, launched back in September, 2017. That's because it was the best iPhone my youngest could afford when she decided only an iPhone would do. The reason I was involved is because she kept dropping it and breaking it. Mostly just the screen but eventually the home button too. Oh, and we replaced the battery somewhere along the way as well. By the end of it I felt like we were working together on some kind of classic car, desperately doing whatever it took to keep it on the road.

Oh how things have changed.

But not really...

No, this isn't an iPhone 8 from five years ago. It's the all new iPhone SE, the third generation of Apple's more budget-friendly Special Edition line.

There's no avoiding it; using the exact same physical design after all this time is perhaps one of the boldest decisions Apple has ever made. Or perplexing. Depending on how you look at it.

Most reviews I've read so far have been kind of scathing about the retro look of this year's SE. But then most reviewers aren't in the target market. They probably have their choice of the latest and greatest premium handsets and would never even consider using a sub-$1000 phone as their primary device.

16 year-olds buying their first iPhone for themselves (or parents buying a phone for even younger kids) have a different set of priorities. For instance; my now 18 year-old has just upgraded to a higher spec iPhone and when I asked her how she was enjoying it, the first thing she told me was how much she dislikes Face ID and wishes she still had a fingerprint sensor and a home button.

Perhaps she should have gone with the iPhone SE.

While the latest version of iOS 15 now supports Face ID even when wearing a mask, it turns out many users still feel uncomfortable about registering their own portrait as a method of unlocking their device. The SE is now the only iPhone with a fingerprint scanner instead. It works really well, by the way - with excellent (and adjustable) haptic feedback under the home button.

But you can't deny the massive black strips top and bottom of the iPhone SE's display are now relics from a bygone era and make this handset look decidedly low-rent. Well, that and the fact the display on this thing is tiny; just 4.7-inches still - that's even 0.7-inches less than the screen on the iPhone 13 mini, which is a smaller phone altogether.

And that's the first of two major compromises you'll have to make if you choose the iPhone SE over just about any other phone in its price-range; screen size. The Retina HD display is fine in terms of brightness, clarity and colour but there's no way you're going to love gaming in such a cramped environment and bingeing the new season your favourite show while squinting the whole time sounds equally unenjoyable.

Still... I rarely game or watch much video on my phone, so that doesn't really worry me. 

In fact, as I may have hinted at early, the thing I really appreciate from the screen on my phone is how tough it is - surprisingly, Apple uses the same ceramic-infused glass as it does on its iPhone 13 flagships. And this is the first hint at why I recommend you look past the old-fashioned look of this phone and actually try it out.

The glass isn't the only thing the SE has in common with its iPhone 13 cousins. It's 5G. It charges wirelessly. It has an IP67 water and dust resistance rating. You can make contactless NFC payments via Apple Wallet. But most significantly, the iPhone SE is powered by the exact same A15 Bionic chip and as we know, that's a very powerful chip indeed.

Believe it or not, the everyday operation of the SE is basically identical to the other 13's - which is to say fast, smooth and reliable. Apps install and load quickly and you can run many at once, easily swapping between them. For some reason the Control Center shortcuts panel is accessed by swiping up from the bottom rather than down from the top-right, but that's about the only significant difference I've encountered in terms of the software experience. 

I mentioned gaming earlier - while it's true squeezing my fat fingers onto the correct virtual controls given the tiny display is a bit of a challenge, the SE runs games like Apex Legends Mobile with no issue whatsoever. That A15 Bionic chip bings plenty of graphics grunt with it too. This little phone is a rocket.

A pocket rocket in fact. It's so small and light (even with a case on) I can hardly feel it in my pocket. I really love that.

I was also surprised how good the stereo speaker setup is - yes, another feature seldom found on devices in this price bracket. I'm not claiming there's much in the way of bass response to get a party started but for an avid podcast listener like me, there's plenty of distortion-free volume from the downward-firing speaker/earpiece combo.

Where I was expecting everything to fall down was the camera. It's the first thing you notice on the back panel; still just one lonely lens. My expectations were low.

And yet...

Look, I can't say I don't miss the option for Ultra-Wide shooting and when I'm restricted to limited digital zoom this is unlikely to be the camera-phone I take on holiday to capture those magic moments. True to its retro style, neither the 12MP primary shooter or the 7MP selfie-cam perform particularly well in dark conditions and while there is a Portrait Mode, it only works for people - not animals, objects or unforgettable plates of food. There are definitely limitations.

At the same time - and yes, due in large part to that magical A15 chip - I'm confident the picture quality from this year's iPhone SE will absolutely smoke shots taken by the previous 2020 version. What's more, I found video quality from both front and back cameras to be really good - which is more important than ever given how many online meetings we're all forced to attend these days.

This is far from the best camera array going - even when compared to other phones of a similar price. Most of those offer at least two, if not three rear-facing lenses - perhaps even an optical zoom option. 

So there you have it; camera functionality is the other compromise you'll have to make if you choose the iPhone SE.

If screen size is important, this isn't your phone. If photography is your priority, this isn't the one either. However, how important is price?

The base-model iPhone 13 starts at NZ$1449.00. A 64GB iPhone SE is just NZ$799.00. 

That's not quite apples with apples though, as the iPhone 13 doesn't have a 64GB model and I'd certainly encourage you to pay the extra $100 for the 128GB iPhone SE. Even at that price, you're getting more "flagship features" than most other mid-priced phones. Things like wireless charging, water resistance and NFC should certainly be a given these days but it isn't always the case. And the A15 chip is basically unbeatable.

I still don't really understand why Apple dressed up a brand-new phone in a five year-old suit but the more I use it, the less I care.

    

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone SE (2022).

It's Actually Easy Being Green

How important is the colour of your phone?

Important enough to influence which phone you end up buying?

Given I once drove from Auckland to Hamilton to get the car I wanted in the colour of my choice, you could easily argue I'm pretty engaged about the colour of my stuff.

While phones don't quite inhabit the same price bracket as a car (well, hopefully not anyway) they still represent a significant investment for most people so it's no surprise many consumers would be likely to shop around to get everything just right - including the colour.

Meanwhile, not every phone-maker has the resources to offer every colour of the rainbow. The wider the range of hues available, the more expensive the cost of manufacture. Luckily for Apple fans, there are enough iPhones sold to justify a pretty good selection,

And that selection just got bigger...

Over the last couple of years, green has come back into fashion with a flourish. From clothes to furniture to appliances, everyone is turning green - both literally and figuratively. Yes, the world's changing attitude towards preserving the environment is probably at least partly to blame for the increasing popularity of the more natural shades.

Apple has jumped on board with all four feet. The iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini are now available in Green or you can go for either the Pro or Pro Max in Alpine Green.

Before we get into a refresher course on the differences between all those phones themselves, let me try and describe the difference in the two new shades of green.

The green on the 13 and the mini is quite a dark shade of green - I'd probably describe it as Forest Green, although Apple simply calls it, Green. The glass on the back of these phones has been “precision milled” apparently - I don’t really know what that means but the result is a flawless, almost mirror-like surface that catches and reflects light quite dramatically.

Unfortunately, because it’s so shiny, it also catches a fair few fingerprints as well - not at all uncommon for most glass-backed handsets. The aluminium band around the edge of the device has a much more muted, matte finish but is also coloured green to match, as are the power and volume buttons. As a bit of a contrast, the glass covering the the camera module seems to be slightly frosted, creating a lighter green than the rest of the rear panel. On the iPhone 13 mini, this is quite prominent as although the whole phone is smaller, the camera module is the same size as its larger siblings, so proportionally you get more of that lighter green.

Meanwhile, the Alpine Green on the 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max is a different story altogether. In fact, it’s almost a completely opposite scenario; the majority of the rear panel seems frosted - almost with the sheen of brushed metal - while the green under the glass of the camera module is a shinier, brighter shade. In fact, what you’re looking at on the iPhone 13 Pro is multiple layers of nanometre-scale metallic ceramics combined with textured matte glass… but then you probably guessed that already, right?

The point is, not only is this all extremely durable but the shimmering effect is very translucent and soothing. Best of all, because of the softer finish, no fingerprints to speak of at all. However, the bands around the edge of the Pro models are made from surgical grade stainless steel, so that’s the really shiny part on these phones and yes, prone to being smeared with disgusting finger grease. While these steel edges are also coloured to match the rear panel, the effect is incredibly subtle and again the sheer shiny-ness of the steel reflects most of the light so the colour is actually kind of hard to detect.

The whole package though is standout. And I don’t even really like green that much. (Bit of a frank confession in a review about green phones, I know) But when I lifted the iPhone 13 Pro out of its box, I actually did a little involuntary intake of breath and may have said, “Oh yeah. That’s nice.” Out loud. With only the dog in the room. He seemed moderately interested. But then he loves to chew boxes.

Let’s not forget these phones are not just all about pretty colours, they’re two of the best phones money can buy right now.

I’d never even used an iPhone mini before, so I was intrigued to tuck it into its matching green MagSafe case and put it through its paces.

Obviously, at 5.4-inches, the display is quite a bit smaller than the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro, which both sport 6.1-inch screens. In saying that, the new generation iPhone SE has a smaller display again - just 4.7-inches so I was surprised to find I didn’t feel all that cramped when using the mini - although there was the odd bit of text that made my tired, old eyes squint a bit, something than can be adjusted in the settings of course.

I’ve used the base-model iPhone 13 a lot since it came out last year and while I was aware that technically, the mini is effectively identical, just smaller, it still took me by surprise when I could use all the same camera effects and use the phone in all the same ways - the whole time taking up a lot less space in my pocket.

I did notice the effect of the smaller battery but thanks to my collection of wireless chargers everywhere I go - especially in my car - the couple of hours less charge never prevented me getting through the day.

The real surprise is how much the mini has in common with the iPhone 13 Pro. First up, of all manufacturers Apple absolutely leads the way when it comes to changing from one of its devices to another. It’s so effortless, it makes me smile every time I do it. All four of the iPhone 13’s share the same A15 Bionic chip, widely accepted as the fastest and most powerful in the current crop of phones anyone has to offer.

This means operating any of these devices is truly seamless - always smooth and super fast. The Pro models take this even further thanks to their adaptive refresh rates on their ProMotion displays. Make no mistake, the display on the mini is wonderful; sharp, accurate and a pleasure to use - it’s just that the Pro takes that experience to another level.

The other big differences are all to do with the camera setup. All four 13’s have improved night-shooting abilities and new video features like Cinematic mode but the Pro has an extra telephoto lens for even better optical zoom and a LiDAR scanner enabling much faster focus, especially in low light. The Pro’s are also setup to shoot in macro too.

Oh, and when it comes to battery life, the 13 Pro absolutely smashes it. You’ll have no concerns there.

There’s a lot of discussion about which phone has the best camera right now. I’m not a photography expert but I do know the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max are always part of that discussion.

I could get bogged down listing off the dozens of other features these phones offer. But we know they’re great, that’s why so many people keep buying them. Personally, I still don’t love iOS as a user interface - it just isn’t customisable in the ways I want it to be. For instance, a rotating Home Screen like you get with the iPads would be a good start. But these days the updates seem to come through thick and fast with constant little tweaks and improvements that lead me to believe iOS will soon give me everything I ask for - and more.

One thing’s for sure, if what you’ve been asking for is a green phone, has Apple got a deal for you. In fact, there are four deals and they all look pretty damn good.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone 13 mini (now in Green).

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple iPhone 13 Pro (now in Alpine Green).