Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4’s Cover Screen: 8 Tricks you didn’t know you could do

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 is a flexible phone, and it’s not just because it’s foldable. Here are several tips and tricks you can do with its Cover Screen alone.

There’s a lot to love with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4—read our review of its pros and cons here—and there’s so much you can do with this pocketable, foldable phone. The review covers most of its features, but there are more tips and tricks you can actually get out of it. To prove our point, we’ve rounded up some things you might not have realised you could do with the Cover Screen.

First, tap the Cover Screen to wake it and…

1. Take a selfie (or wefie) with the 12MP rear camera

The 10MP selfie camera is great, but why not use the better 12MP rear camera? Simply press the power button twice to open the Camera app, and voila, you’ll spot yourself on the Cover Screen. Next, swipe up or down to toggle between the Ultra Wide camera (great for group photos) and the Wide camera. 

Alternatively, swipe to the left for Portrait mode. Once you’re ready to snap the shot, just press the volume button. 

To activate a short self-timer, tap on the screen or show your palm to the camera (Palm gesture). 

Tip: Double-tap on the Cover Screen to see how the photo would look in the actual portrait-oriented ratio. 

 

2. Shoot a vlog with the 12MP rear camera

To shoot a video with the Cover Screen, swipe to the right instead!

3. Shoot a photo or video from a distance

One of the great benefits of having a foldable phone is that it can act as a mini tripod! And with the Cover Screen preview, you can easily check that the framing is to your liking before taking the shot. 

Once you’ve placed down the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, selected the correct mode and angled it, ensure you enable the Cover Screen preview by tapping on the far right button (the icon looks like a square with a tinier square in its top-right corner). When you’re ready, use the Palm gesture to begin. 

 

4. Answer (or reject) phone calls

Traditionally, you can flip open the phone to pick up the call. While that’s still applicable, you can also answer it without doing so via the Cover Screen by touching the green button and dragging it to the centre of the screen. However, be warned that doing so will utilise the speaker instead, so it’s only a good trick if you’re in the comforts of a private area. 

To decline a call, touch and drag the red button instead towards the middle.

5. Send a quick reply to text messages

Your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 sounds off an alert—a message has been delivered to your inbox. Or perhaps you picked it up, woke up the Cover Screen, swiped to the left and saw your notifications tray had some messages for you. Either way, you can tap on the selected message to expand it to read further. Then, scroll down further for some short, sweet, templated replies that you can quickly send without even opening your phone. 

 

6. Use Samsung Pay for quick transactions

If you have Samsung Pay set up on your Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, making cashless transactions is even faster. Wake the Cover Screen and swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Samsung Pay. If you have more than one card registered, you can swipe across to switch to your desired one. Then, authorise the payment by using the fingerprint sensor and tapping the base of the phone—that’s where the NFC chip is—on the payment terminal. 

7. Access the settings

On the other hand, swiping down from the top of the Cover Screen will give you access and control to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4’s settings, such as Wi-Fi, Silent mode, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and even screen brightness.

 

8. Widgets!

Under Settings > Cover Screen > Widgets, you can activate your favourite widgets for instant access via the Cover Screen. From the weather forecast to the calendar and timer to the voice recorder to steps, toggle the ones you like and reorder them in your preference. On the Cover Screen, you’ll be able to access them by waking up the screen and swiping to the right. 

Bonus: How to customise your Cover Screen

Go to Settings > Cover Screen > Clock style.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 has various ‘Graphical’ templates for the Clock style. Still, you can also personalise how and where you want the clock, date/time, and battery displayed under the Basic option. 

Next, tap on the preview at the top of the screen to add wallpapers! The more images you add here, it’ll cycle through them on your Cover Screen throughout the day!

 

*The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 starts at RM4,099 (128GB); differing prices are according to the chosen storage option. It’s available in four colourways: Graphite, Pink Gold, Blue and the signature Bora Purple. Alternatively, there’s the Bespoke Edition which provides 75 unique combinations.

For more information or to purchase the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, head to their website.