The Z Flip 4 is a great compact phone that you can’t fully use with one hand

The Galaxy Z Flip series has been around for a few years now, reviving the flip smartphone form factor popularized by the likes of Motorola, Nokiaand the second in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The Galaxy Z Flip 4 it continues in much the same vein as previous Z Flip phones, offering a pocket-friendly form factor when folded and a smartphone-sized internal screen when unfolded. However, as much as I liked this design, there is a small obstacle in the way of it reaching its true potential as a compact phone.

Of course, the Galaxy Z Flip series easily fits in your pocket and practically disappears. But take it out of your pocket and the first problem becomes apparent. You can’t open it easily with one hand. Instead, you’ll need to use both hands to open it. This is probably due to the fact that the Flip series has a series of magnets that keep the device tightly closed.

However, I found this to be quite annoying in a few scenarios. This is especially annoying when I’m in a store with a cart and want to check mine shopping list. It’s also annoying when I’m carrying something else in one hand (like a carrier bag, food, water bottle, etc.).

We saw some people show off own way to open the Flip phone with one hand. But most of these methods involve inserting your finger into the gap and/or moving your wrist like you’re a knife-wielding thief in an 80s movie.

That motion gesture in particular seems to be a recipe for disaster, and we wouldn’t be surprised if phones flew out of people’s hands as a result. However, inserting your finger into the screen gap also means pressing your fingernail onto the screen flip screen. That’s a big no-no like SamsungNotes on the adjustment screen, because your fingernail can damage the folding screen. Watch the short clip below to see this gesture in action.

Others touted the way to open the phone with one hand is to partially open it and then press into your stomach, using your stomach or chest to fully open the screen. This isn’t as foolproof as the above method, but it’s still more inconvenient than it needs to be. See below.

Of course, Galaxy Z Fold the series is also difficult to open. However, the Fold line itself is large and unwieldy to begin with, so we understand why accessing the tablet-sized screen requires two hands.

The Z Flip series, however, is built around the idea of ​​compactness. We were hoping Samsung would fix the one-handed opening issue with the Z Flip 4, but it looks like we may have to wait until next year to see if the company offers a solution.

Perhaps the easiest way to solve the one-handed problem would be to reduce the number of magnets used to keep the device closed. A Galaxy Z Flip 3 Disassembly reveals that a total of six magnets are used, so we could see two removed or some reduced to make the device easier to open. However, this could have the potential side effect of the phone not staying firmly closed or sometimes opening accidentally.

Another potential solution would be to offer a cutout or indentation on the bottom half of the phone. We’re already seeing a similar solution on some laptops, with an indentation on the bottom half of the computer that gives users an easier way to open the lid. The potential downside here is that this could make for an aesthetically unpleasant design choice. We may also need thicker bezels so your nail has a dedicated area to open the top half without damaging the screen – another visually unattractive choice.

Finally, Samsung could solve this problem by implementing a spring hinge. This would allow you to open easily foldable manually or by pressing a button like the flip phones of yesteryear. However, this solution also has a lot of concerns.

A spring mechanism would make the hinge design more complicated, potentially leading to durability issues or affecting IP rating. It can also mean a no-stop design – the device is either fully open or fully closed and you lose the fantastic Flex Mode. And sure enough, Motorola Razr 5G it offers a spring-loaded hinge, but no free-stop design and only a water-repellent coating instead of the Flip 4’s IPX8 rating.

Having said that, the fact that you need two hands to easily open the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is not a problem. It’s quite annoying that you have to resort to some awkward and/or ill-advised movements to open this compact device with one hand. But opening the device is only a small part of the overall experience.

The fact that I can easily fit a phone with a 6.7-inch screen in my pocket is still pretty cool after all this time, and I’ve often found myself grabbing this device when I’m out and about instead of the bulkier Z Fold 4. Throw in a combination of Flex Mode and Function Single Take and I’d say it’s worth the inconvenience of using two hands to open the device.