People have this idea of foldable smartphones being delicate and certainly not as durable as conventional devices. This is an idea that Samsung has been working very hard to dismiss. It has considerably improved the durability of its foldable smartphones over the past couple of years.
There's no bigger testament to that than the Galaxy Z Flip 4. A new teardown video shows just how much the Galaxy Z Flip 4 can go through and yet still remain fully functional. Hats off to Samsung's engineering prowess.
The Galaxy Z Flip 4 can sure take a beating
YouTuber JerryRigEverything is highly regarded for his durability tests and teardown videos. He's done the latter on his Galaxy Z Flip 4 that has previously passed the durability test with flying colors.
The actual teardown process goes as you'd imagine. Peeling the display off requires the use of a heat gun. This is also where we find that the foldable panel retains an under-display metal backing even though this has been removed on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Some metal slats and an additional sheet is also used to reinforce the screen around the hinge.
Removing the back panels also requires the application of some heat after which the rest of the process is fairly standard. There are a few ribbons to unclip and screws to open. All of the components are then freed from their respective positions. You won't see any thermal paste or vapor chambers for cooling the internal components. Samsung is relying on graphite pads for that purpose.
Once inside, we can see the improved hinge mechanism that Samsung has introduced with this device. Instead of gears, the new hinge uses machined channels to make it possible to fold the device. It all looks very well engineered and what's impressive is that when the entire process is reversed, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 comes back to life, even though it may seem impossible.
We'll certainly see Samsung's foldable phones go from strength to strength in the durability department for future iterations. It goes to show that there's no need to baby Samsung's foldables. They're built to last.
