It turns out that not everyone wants to spend their day glued to a giant slab of glass. TCL’s latest offering, the Flip 4 5G, revives the kind of mobile phone that used to live in everyone’s pocket before smartphones decided we needed a second television screen in our hands. This one doesn’t fold like a piece of origami or pretend to be a fashion statement. Instead, it brings back the sort of functionality that mobile phones had before tech firms collectively forgot the point of making calls.
This nostalgia-infused gadget from TCL isn’t trying to be Samsung’s Z Flip or Lenovo’s Motorola Razr. It doesn’t fold with fanfare or scream luxury. It is a good old-fashioned flip phone with a 1.77 inch outer screen to flash notifications and a decent 3.2 inch internal QVGA panel with all the charm of early-2000s tech. You won’t mistake its 320 x 240 resolution for anything sharp, but it gets the job done without bombarding you with pixels you don’t need.
Open it up and you are greeted with a proper T9 keypad that clicks when you press it, rather than an on-screen mess of smudges and mistypes. It is satisfying in the way touchscreens never were. Above it, the screen gives you just enough space for texts, contacts and a few useful apps without demanding you spend your evening doomscrolling. The Flip 4 5G runs on KaiOS 4.0, a lightweight operating system that still supports YouTube, Google Maps, Google Assistant and WhatsApp, proving that simplicity doesn’t have to mean going full caveman.
Under the hood, it is powered by a Snapdragon 215 chip with either 2GB or 3GB of RAM, paired with 32GB or 64GB of storage. If you need more, there’s room for a 1TB microSD card. It has a 5MP rear camera that shoots 720p video and, sensibly, no selfie camera. This isn’t a phone for influencers or food photographers. It is a phone for people who want to talk to each other without being pestered by notification hell.
Battery life is another reminder that simpler phones have their perks. A 3000mAh cell offers up to 40 hours of talk time and about 15 days of standby. It charges via USB-C, which is a refreshing choice in a world still littered with micro-USB nightmares. It supports Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 5G, 4G LTE, VoLTE and even Wi-Fi calling. It ticks all the essential boxes without pretending it can replace your laptop.
At $80, or free on a Metro by T-Mobile plan with number port-in, the Flip 4 5G is accessible and refreshingly honest. It doesn’t pretend to be the future. It is a reminder that the past wasn’t all that bad, especially when it comes to mobile phones. If foldables aren’t your thing, TCL also has a K32 5G touchscreen model, though that feels like a concession for those still clinging to the touchscreen dream.
