Julius Feldmann reported on immersive music event Flextival at the Sydney Cargo Hall and tested the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy presented Flextival, a truly immersive audio and visual experience, to celebrate the release of its fourth-generation foldable Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold smartphones to an exclusive audience on September 28. Boasting a lineup of incredible acts to pair PNAU DJ SET, including Set Mo, Dena Amy, Stacie Fields, dameeeela, Troy Beman and Madami, music lovers got up-close and personal with Australia’s established and rising talent.
The experience unfolded at Sydney’s Cargo Hall, Overseas Passenger Terminal, with a stunning 6-metre LED wall and floor echoing the shape of the Galaxy Z series phones. The unique proportions of this stage allowed visual artists, namely Tom Yau, André Hemer, George Dooley and QuinnXYZ, to creatively immerse the crowd from all angles, which was particularly well executed through spectacular digital visuals and complementing light shows.
Attendees were treated to a hands-on opportunity to test the new foldable phones at Studio Flex, with Samsung Galaxy professionals guiding users to play with the new features and snap fantastic photos. Additionally, the viewer experience was made complete through complementary food and beverages along with quiet, comfortable areas to digest the event.
The Z Flip4 and Z Fold4 phones were much more durable and sturdy (this was an issue in the past where they were perceived as flimsy and having weak points at the folding hinges). Both phones had far better quality screens as well, which appeared like a standard screen without the small crease that showed up in previous models. The latest models were more refined than the previous versions with a thinner and more sleek look and feel.
The Z Flip4 was definitely a fun phone to play around with and you can quickly tell how portable it is – particularly for people with limited pocket/handbag space. It is still highly reminiscent of the Motorola flip phones from the 90s and 2000s.
The Z Fold4 is a little bit larger, folding open and closed like a book as opposed to a make-up mirror (Flip4), which makes it less portable but far greater for viewing media in multiple formats. I was very impressed how comfortably the software switched between the multiple screens, i.e. when opening an app from the individual front screen to the larger, double screen. The front screen is also larger, making it much more viable to use it as a primary screen, rather than flipping open the double screens to do anything remotely laborious.
While Flextival was certainly an unmissable sensory experience, an encore presentation of highlights from the event will be available on Mixmag’s Youtube channel to stream from October 7th. Be sure to check this out if you weren’t able to grab a ticket!
The new additions to the Galaxy Z Series, Z Fold4 and Z Flip4, are available now in-store for purchase, offering a premium device with a remarkable camera and powerful, large screen, yet without the compromise of style or portability. They both offer a wide range of colourways, from Pink Gold, Graphite, Blue and Bora Purple for the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Phantom Black, Beige, Grey green and Burgundy for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
