The people at JerryRigEverything have been taking an up-close look at the Galaxy Z Flip and they’ve come up with some very interesting results. Of course, let’s get over the immediate problem that here in the UK we call it the “Zed Flip” whilst in the USA it’s known as the “Zee Flip”.
No, there’s an more immediate issue it seems and it could perhaps explain why this phone has gone straight on sale without review models being readily available. Maybe.
That screen, as you’ll see in the very aggressive test below, maybe isn’t glass. At least, not the glass you know of right now. The Samsung literature states..
Foldable Design & Samsung Ultra Thin Glass
Who said you can’t fold glass? The iconic design of the Galaxy Z Flip fits neatly in your palm and then unfolds to reveal a fully immersive 6.7” screen, made of our brand new Samsung Ultra-Thin Glass.
So, glass then. Definitely glass, right? Well, in the testing below you’ll see that the screen was damaged with nothing more than a fingernail, and … well… glass doesn’t do that..
Indeed, as mentioned in the video, there’s a big warning within the phone telling you not to push to hard on that “glass” screen. It seems to react like a plastic screen instead.
In slightly better news, the “reverse bend test” is better than the Motorola RAZR from last week.
What we should perhaps remember here is that the screen is largely protected from scratches whilst in your pocket anyway, and unless you’re in the habit of pushing your fingernail into the screen when you’re using it, you’re probably fine. However, there’s got to be a reality check on whether that glass is the version of glass that we expect. Basically, it’s not “glass” in the traditional sense of the word. Normal glass bends at about 630 degrees, so this isn’t that.
Update – OK, Samsung tell us that it is indeed glass (super-thin glass), and the top part that was scratched is actually an on-board protector which isn’t removable.