While the Flip 4 is quite compact, it's still expensive and delicate, so give it the best case you can

Folding phones are getting so close to the mainstream with the Galaxy Z Flip 4; the compact size and lower prices of its predecessor, the Z Flip 3, dominated the foldable market in the year since its launch. With faster charging, stronger glass, and some stunning color choices, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 aims to pick up the baton and reach new heights.

Before you go conflating flip phones of today with their unbreakable 00s ancestors, you still absolutely, positively need a good case for your Flip 4. One bad drop is all it takes to turn that $1000 masterpiece into misery, but these Galaxy Z Flip 4 cases add grip, drop protection, and style to elevate one of the best Android phones you can buy today.

The Spigen Tough Armor For Galaxy Z Flip 4 protects not only the front/back panels but also the hinge, and it does so without having unsightly humps or making it teeter totter on your desk. Last year, buying a Flip case that covered the hinge when closed meant either a ridiculously thick case or a rotating flap that would make it impossible to lay the open phone flat on a table.

Spigen solved that problem with the Tough Armor, and it makes for an absolutely stellar case. The multi-layer construction allows for robust protection, while raised edges around the inner and outer screens should help you avoid damaging that precious, perilous folding display.

Rather than only the power button being exposed for fingerprint scanning, the volume rocker is open, too, if you hate mushy buttons. Spigen also confirmed to Android Police that after some adhesive issues last year, it's repositioned the adhesives to keep it secured to your Flip 4 without potentially damaging it when that case needs to come back off. (Scroll to the bottom if you want more details about last year's UWB panel issues.)

At Samsung’s first hands-on event, Android Police’s Ryne Hager immediately gravitated to the $90 Samsung Flap Leather Cover for the Galaxy Z Flip 4. He found it gaudy and ostentatious like a ridiculously expensive handbag circa 2002, but in all the best ways — perfectly over the top.

Although the sliding cover for the hinge might look like it would be loose, it was quite stiff and stayed pressed against the back of the top of the case, and it isn’t as chunky as these images might make it look, though it is far from thin. The leather itself isn’t the most impeccable quality you can get in some cases, but it felt and looked premium, though a lighter color is sure to pick up wear and stains more quickly. The metal accents finish out the premium vibe.

This case feels like a thousand bucks, so if you don’t want to swaddle your $1000 Galaxy Z Flip 4 in inexpensive TPU and polycarbonate and want to draw even more attention to that folding phone when you’re out and about, this case is happy to satisfy.

My adoration of the Nano Pop series of cases is well-known, and while Caseology sat out the Galaxy Z Flip 3 last year, it has brought its most stylish case to Samsung's most stylish phone this generation. Available in three colorways, this case adds some air cushioning and a burst of color without being as thick as Samsung's leather hulk or Spigen's rugged case.

The classic Blueberry Navy with raincoat yellow accents is here, but the best of the bunch is undeniably Light Violet. The bold Pantone purple and periwinkle accents complete the Bora Purple's spectrum, though it also looks great with the Blue and Graphite colorways, too. For the Pink Gold colorway, there's Burgundy Bean, a unique dichotomy that makes me crave coffee for some reason.

This case doesn't guard the hinge, but you get a nice edge around the cover screen and cameras and the added purchase of micro-bump grip pads along the sides of the case.

This ultra-slim Galaxy Z Flip 4 case won't offer impact protection, but it also won't obscure or detract from the natural beauty of your illustrious flip phone. The other benefit of this being super thin and super transparent is that you can easily see that there are no garish adhesive strips involved: this case snaps on.

While clear polycarbonate cases can sometimes get those rainbow, oil-slick-looking puddles on the back where the phone and plastic come together, the Ringke Slim uses a dot matrix inner finish to prevent those unsightly blemishes and keep everything beautifully slim. Again, the Slim won't provide any protection against drops, but it does add scratch protection, and it does so while preserving the Samsung style.

There are a few variations of this case to consider: the regular transparent version comes in both Clear and Matte versions. You might want to wait for Matte if you want the colors to show through but not every fingerprint, dust spec, and micro-crack. There's a solid black version, too, but there are better black slim cases to be had (especially on this list). Ringke also has a version of this case with a hinge cover in the works, but it's not here quite yet.

Urban Armor Gear's Civilian Series may not have the multi-material majesty of the Monarch, but it's durable as all get out, exactly what the compact and delicate Galaxy Z Flip 4 needs. The Civilian Series comes in three classic UAG colors: Mallard Blue, Olive Green, and good ol' Black.

The honeycomb hollows inside this case add air cushioning for impact resistance without added weight. The higher bumpers around the camera and cover screen add extra peace of mind against drops while the phone is closed. UAG has a thin, flexible cover that covers the hinge when the case is closed. It's not as rugged as the one on the Spigen Tough Armor, but that also keeps the bulk down a little bit.

And like Spigen, UAG had to learn after some adhesive issues last year, opting for larger adhesive pads on the front and back panels rather than relying solely on smaller grips along the edges of the phone. It's still early days, but combined with the one-piece design of the membrane bridging the two halves, this should allow this Galaxy Z Flip 4 case to stay put much better than its predecessor.

i-Blason knows that just because a case is cute doesn't mean it can't be tough, and the i-Blason Cosmo Series brings style and 10-foot drop protection to its Galaxy Z Flip 4 cases. For those familiar with the Cosmo Series, this is not the two-layer style with the hard plastic frame — that would be too bulky for the compact coolness of the Flip 4.

Given that the side bumpers of this case are clear, the Cosmo compliments your flip phone's particular colorway rather than covering it up. We're missing a hinge cover on here, but given relative case thinness and potential printing interference, it's not terribly surprising.

We've only seen the three standard Marble colorways for the Flip 4 Cosmo so far, but I'm desperately hoping for a Blue Butterfly or at the very least a white/blue/silver marble rather than the Ocean Blue. The current blue looks fine with the Graphite Flip 4, but it just gets too noisy when paired with the Blue Flip 4. The Marble Pink and Purple look stunning on their respective Flip 4 colorways, but the blue is just enough of a mismatch to clash.

If you don't want any thickness bulking up your cute new foldable, Spigen's Air Skin line of super-slim snap-on cases is here for you in three colors and two clear varieties including my beloved Glitter Crystal Quartz! The three colors here all perfectly match the main Flip 4 colorways: Cornflower Blue (think Genie blue), Cotton Pink (a shade darker than Samsung's pink Silicone cover), and a blissfully creamy Rose Purple.

A benefit of this super slim style — and clear versions — is that you won't have to worry so much about adhesives here not being strong enough or gripping delicate parts of the Flip 4 too strongly and ripping things apart. That makes this thin case a much easier decision for those of you who might be having traumatic flashbacks to the last time you tried to change the case on your Galaxy Z Flip 3.

As super-slim cases with slightly open joins at the corners, you obviously can't expect any super durable drop protection here. You need more mass in order to absorb or redirect those levels of kinetic force; that's physics we haven't quite managed to overcome. What you do get is scratch protection and just enough of a lip around the camera and cover screen to hopefully keep it up and off the crumb-covered table you just see it down on.

While there are many, many durable case makers out there, OtterBox has long cemented itself as the Kleenex of heavy-duty device protection, and that sturdy security is back and better than ever. Last year's Symmetry Series cases for the Flip 3 were clear with black accenting and only covered the front and back panels, which are being called Thin Flex this year.

For the Flip 4's Symmetry Series Flex, OtterBox has a sliding hinge cover that hides inside the front/back panels when open, allowing you the best of both worlds so long as you're willing to put up with a slightly thicker case. The hinge cover sports a rather fetching pattern of waves across it, adding some vibrance to an otherwise relatively plain single-color case.

Speaking of color, I Lilac You pairs well with either the Bora Purple or Blue Flip 4, but the Don't Even Chai brown colorway is far too cute a name for an awkwardly beige case. Bluetiful is a decent shade we've seen on dozens of previous OtterBox cases, but it's a strange offset with the Blue Flip 4. There's also Black if you hate colors or fun.

There's a reason that Samsung chose to make this case the one included with Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 preorders: its ring case is simple, adorable, and comes in many colors. This year, Samsung has even offered up to Silicone Cover with Ring colorways that match Bespoke Edition colors — Khaki Green and Navy — alongside the Pink, Bora Purple, and Arctic Blue.

Traditionally, Samsung silicone cases are known for being particularly strong dust magnets, even among silicone cases, but its Flip 3 and Flip 4 cases seem to have avoided this curse. We're not entirely sure what blood magic ritual that entailed, but anything that helps your case look clean and presentable rather than covered with every spec of lint your pocket ever shed in its life is good in our book.

While there's also the Samsung Silicone Cover With Strap — which comes in white or black and can swap to dozens of differently patterned straps — the Ring Cover wins in a few key areas. The ring is easier to hold for longer periods and gives you a more centralized grip than the strap's bottom-set grip. It's also easier to hook onto to pull your phone out of your pocket or purse, ensuring you don't drop it while sliding it out and open.

Given how small the Flip 4 is, it's hard to build in robust impact resistance without turning the compact into a big, honking clamshell, but Supcase did its best to strike a balance. The UB Pro claims 20-foot drop protection — and knowing how well past UB Pros have stood up to cars, concrete, and lawnmowers, I actually believe their claims.

I wish that Supcase had followed the same track as Spigen, OtterBox, and UAG with a sliding bumper cover. Even one of those bulky rotating flaps — as the Fold 4 version has — would've been appreciated. After all, this is a heavy-duty case that leaves one side completely exposed when the phone is closed.

That said, your hinge should stay safe and secure if you clip the phone into the included belt holster. Usually, I'm 100% against smartphone belt holsters because phones are far too big to fit comfortably and safely on your hip. However, the Flip 4 is small enough that the belt holster is small enough to truly look decent. This only comes in black right now, but I'm hoping we at least get a well-matched blue or purple for variety's sake.

VRS Design is best known for its ruggedly handsome wallet cases, but the durability alone makes the QuickStand series worth your time and money. The hinge cover here isn't as durable as its beefier Terra Guard cousin, but it will still sit flat on a table and it still has a nice, sturdy kickstand sitting inside it. The hinge cover here is closer to the Spigen end of the spectrum rather than the thinner UAG/OtterBox side — and trust me, I know how weird that sounds, but it's true.

While kickstand cases might not seem as big of a draw when you can just set a phone down in Flex mode, this kickstand allows you to prop your phone up at more angles. It can also let you clearly see both sides of the screen in Flex Mode at a distance rather than the lower half being flat on the table and harder to glance at.

Like the Spigen Tough Armor, this case's only real flaw is that it only comes in Black, but hope springs eternal for VRS to veer into some actual colors down the road.

I'd love to be able to tell you to grab three or four cases and just swap out depending on how durable or stylish a case you need on a given day, but foldable cases are made to go on and stay on for as long as possible. Because these phones have moving parts, cases can't rely on the pressure and grip of just covering the bumper with strong but semi-flexible TPU the way normal cases can. Most of the best Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 cases use adhesives to ensure a proper fit that won't slide around.

Spigen retooled all of its cases after customer feedback last year, and its Tough Armor case is both sturdy and reliable without you having to worry about it ripping your phone apart (more on that in the next section). The improved grip and tailoring help give you a more pleasant in-hand experience as well as being more sturdy. UAG's Civilian and the Otterbox Symmetry Series Flex offer similar experiences, but for much higher prices, especially while Spigen is running semi-regular coupons for its foldable cases.

If you want that same all-encompassing protection from Samsung, the Leather Flap Cover is the only of the three Flip 4 cases to offer full, robust hinge protection, as the Silicone Cover with Strap only covers the hinge with a soft fabric strap and the Silicone Cover with Ring only covers a small portion of the hinge. The flap here is sturdy, almost stiff, and the color selection is quite adaptable, as Serene Purple is a shade that pairs well with both Bora Purple and Blue.

Those are quite pricey, however, which is why my personal favorite Galaxy Z Flip 4 case is the Caseology Nano Pop. I've used the Light Violet colorway before with the purple Galaxy S21, and that case looked fantastic even after a year of heavy, heavy use. This is Caseology's first year doing foldable cases, but it seems to have hit the ground running and offers some of the best styles for a Z Flip 4 case outside the i-Blason Cosmo series.

All of the cases in this list say they finally use fast-charging with Samsung-compatible wireless chargers — though, as always, keep in mind that wireless charging speeds and consistency can vary from phone to phone and from case to case. The distance between the coils and the surface of the phone isn't always exactly the same, and cases can also vary in thickness by a few millimeters as well, and distance and positioning have to be rather exact when wireless charging.

Last year, the "windows" on the frame of the Flip 3 that allowed for better UWB connectivity were placed right near the hinge, which was also where most case manufacturers put the adhesive strips that kept said cases in place. In some instances, if the adhesive was too strong — or if the phone had already been slightly damaged from a drop — the cases would sometimes rip the UWB panels off the frame of the Flip 3, ruining the phone and sending you running for a repair center.

Samsung changed the frame's design to prevent these catastrophic confluences from recurring in the Flip 4, but that wasn't the only adhesive fail accessory manufacturers had to learn from last year. Some cases didn't have enough adhesive — or strong enough adhesive — which led to cases just sliding off the phone when you pulled on it. It didn't help that most case makers put this adhesive along the sides of the phone rather than across the front panel or back panel, leading to more chances of the adhesive coming unstuck due to the smaller surface area.

This year, many manufacturers have retooled their case designs and the adhesives they use to keep your case safely secured to your Flip 4. When looking at cases, always double-check the renders to see where the adhesive strips are placed and if it comes with spares. After all, you might not be taking your case off that often, but you'll still have to do it whenever you need access to the SIM tray should you change carriers — or change between phones — on a semi-regular basis.

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Ara Wagoner is Commerce Editor for Android Police and a lover of all things cases, Chromebooks, accessories, and Disney. Overseeing our buyer's guides and product selection, Ara has spent 7 years honing her product-picking instincts and reviews while previously at Android Central, bringing a unique flair to her writing (and a lot of TV/anime references). She works full-time on a Chromebook, whether it's at home or while waiting for fireworks at Walt Disney World. Ara loves Android phones so much that she wears a shoulder holster to ensure they're never out of reach, and if you see her without headphones, RUN.