Smartphones & Tablets | August 4, 2023
Once again this summer, Samsung brings a new edition of its foldable phones to the forefront. They have been leading and dominating the market with flexible displays for five generations. This time, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 are the new members of the family, and although they may seem like similar phones, there are substantial changes. Particularly, if we talk about the design, where Samsung’s Flex hinge now folds both halves of both phones completely. The tight gap or small space where dust used to get into our pockets is gone. But there are other details worth mentioning.
In summary, these phones have significantly improved on the outside. Both are still very sturdy, with an Armor Aluminium frame and hinge, an enhanced and durable alloy. Their glass finishes are signed by Corning with their Gorilla Glass Victus 2. They are also IPX8 certified, making them resistant to accidental water immersion. And don’t worry about the foldable screen; Samsung guarantees that you can fold and unfold your new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 or Galaxy Z Fold5 up to 200,000 times with complete safety. That means you can unfold it 100 times a day for five years without any issues. It won’t break on the 200,001st time, but it’s a guarantee that these foldable phones are built to last.
The key to this new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 lies in its design. It may look like the same recognizable Z Flip, but there are several key points to consider. The most noticeable change is the new Flex hinge with a double rail that allows folding the screen in a drop-like shape (when viewed from the side). This means the old space between the two parts of the phone can be closed. While it’s not a complete closure, the interior screen is no longer fully exposed, and we’ll see if this change makes a substantial difference in daily use when we put it to the test.
This change in the hinge system has direct consequences for the phone’s profile, making it narrower, more comfortable, and ergonomic when folded. Specifically, it reduces the thickness by 2 millimeters, resulting in a total of 15.1 mm for this Galaxy Z Flip5.
The Flex Window deserves special mention, which is the exterior screen. It has grown to 3.4 inches, much larger than what was seen in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4, addressing the criticisms from the public and press about the impracticality of having such a small screen on the outside. Now, the user experience is entirely different, mimicking its older sibling, the Z Fold, as you can perform many actions directly with the phone folded. This, in turn, can help save battery by not using the foldable screen constantly and avoid the need to unfold it, for example, to reply to a WhatsApp message that you could read on this external screen. Now you can also respond and use the full keyboard.
Another novelty of the Galaxy Z Flip5 and its great Flex Window is the support for different applications to be used on this panel. The screen, by the way, has the shape of a MicroSD card, as it needs to make room for the cameras. This doesn’t limit its capabilities; on the contrary, it adds some extra style points. Now, we can view notifications and interact with them. By swiping down on this screen, we can also access more mobile tools like the flashlight, connectivity, or sound. With a pinch gesture, we can access a quick menu of widgets to jump quickly to the ones we want. For now, Samsung has adapted a few tools, such as Google stock information, the calendar, temperature and weather, and the number of steps taken, among others. But in the settings, Samsung allows you to try a developing feature that lets other apps be brought to this unique screen: WhatsApp, YouTube, Netflix, or Google Maps are some of them. And although they may be smaller or have less space for tapping, the experience is similar to the interior screen. This allows you to use them without unfolding the phone and even customize them with larger and more eye-catching images if you wish.
When you unfold the phone, you’ll find a flexible panel with Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, capable of a 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution on a 6.7-inch screen. It’s like having a high-end OLED display that folds. Although the crease is still noticeable when touched or with certain glare.
Samsung has not made any innovations in the camera department. At least not in terms of hardware. We find two main cameras on the cover of this Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, both 12 megapixels. One is a regular camera with Dual Pixel technology, and the other is an ultra-wide-angle lens. The novelty here comes from Artificial Intelligence, the adapted Nightography concept from the Samsung Galaxy S23, and, of course, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor. Improvements in photography come through image processing, which should enhance photos with excessive HDR, saturation, and incorrect processing seen in the previous Z Flip4. We’ll check this out in the corresponding analysis.
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 | |
| Screens | – Inside: 6.7-inch FHD+ with Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology and 120 Hz Adaptive Refresh Rate (1~120 Hz). Infinity Flex screen (2640 x 1080, 22:9) – Exterior: 3.4-inch Super AMOLED screen at 60 Hz. 720 x 748 resolution and 306 PPI |
| Main chamber | – Main camera: 12 megapixel Dual Pixel, with OIS and f/1.8 aperture – Secondary camera: 12 megapixel wide-angle f/2.2 |
| Selfie camera | 10 megapixel f/2.4, pixel size 1.22 μm. 123 degree viewing angle. |
| Internal memory | 256 /512 GB type UFS 3.1 |
| Extension | No |
| Processor and RAM | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy 8GB RAM |
| Battery | 3,700 mAh battery (Up to 50% charge in about 30min with 25W adapter and 3A USB-C cable) Fast wireless charging 2.0 PowerShare wireless charging Does not include charging adapter |
| OS | Android 13 One UI 5.1.1 |
| Connections | 5G WiFi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 USB C 3.1 NFC GPS |
| SIM | Nano SIM or eSIM |
| Design | Mint, Graphite, Cream, Lavender, Grey, Blue, Green, Yellow. Armor Aluminum frames and hinge. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass surfaces. |
| Dimensions | – Unfolded: 71.9 x 165.1 x 6.9mm – Folded: 71.9 x 85.1 x 15.1mm – Weight: 187 grams |
| Featured Features | IPX8 resistance, fingerprint sensor on the side button, stereo sound. Guaranteed resistance of 200,000 folds (100 folds per day for 5 years), Flex Hinge (drop shape that folds almost completely) |
| Release date | Available from August 11 |
| Price | 256GB model: €1,209 512GB model: €1,329 |
There are no innovations in terms of the battery, another criticism of the previous Galaxy Z Flip4. Samsung sticks with a 3,700 mAh capacity battery. They also continue to support only 25W fast charging with a compatible adapter that is once again not included in the box. This means the full charging time is around one hour. It’s not much, but it falls far behind the competition. The key here is to see if Samsung has improved the battery life and consumption. In theory, if we use the flexible screen less and the processor performs well, we should have enough capacity to last throughout the day. Again, we will verify this in our future analysis.
Finally, it should be mentioned that this Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 comes to the market in new colors that will be available in stores, with some of them being exclusively found on Samsung’s website. The colors include mint, graphite, lavender, gray, blue, green, and yellow. There will be two memory models, 256GB (€1,210) and 512GB (€1,330), which will determine their different prices.
This Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 will be available on the market on August 11th, although it can already be pre-ordered from Samsung’s website.
Bigger used to mean better some time ago. However, in the world of mobile phones, applying this logic can lead to a bulky brick in your pocket. Samsung knows this and is aware that its foldable phone-to-tablet concept comes with this problem: it used to be big and heavy. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 seeks to improve this aspect a bit by slimming down its structure. Just like in the Galaxy Z Flip5, the new Flex hinge allows the screen fold to be completely closed, creating a new experience of a more compact phone. On the other hand, it has also become slimmer. Its weight has been reduced by 10 grams, and its thickness by 2.4 mm. And it shows. It feels lighter and more ergonomic in the hand. Although it remains a substantial phone, it is also a tablet.
The most interesting thing about this Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is the combination of a powerful processor like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy with a 7.6-inch screen. This results in enhanced functionalities. Now, the quick toolbar and recent apps tray can hold 4 more apps. That means it’s easier to access recent apps that appear in the lower bar of the foldable screen. With this, not only is it possible to quickly return to an app we were using, but also open multitasking and multi-window features, allowing apps to be arranged everywhere, much like the windows of a computer.
There is also a new and interesting feature that allows dragging elements from one app to another. For example, if we select a photo with one finger and keep it pressed on the screen, we can use another finger to swipe to the note-taking app to paste the image there. It’s similar to dragging files in Windows, but with a more tactile experience on this Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5.
In addition to that, the Flex mode features have multiplied. This mode allows us to partially fold the phone to use one side of the screen for content viewing and the other side for managing different aspects. For example, now it includes playback controls, a content thumbnail to see what’s on the other screen, or the ability to use that part of the panel as a mouse, among other things.
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 | |
| Indoor Screen | 7.6 inches, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Infinity Flex Display with QXGA+ resolution, 374 dpi and support for S Pen and 120Hz refresh rate. 1,750 nits of brightness. |
| Outdoor Screen | 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with HD+ resolution, 402 dpi and 120Hz refresh rate. 23.1:9 format |
| Cameras | – Main: 50 megapixel Dual Pixel and f/1.8 aperture with OIS and AF – Secondary: 12mp ultra-wide angle with f/2.2 aperture – Third: 10mp with 3X Zoom telephoto lens and OIS and f/2.4 aperture, up to 30X digital zoom |
| Secondary chambers | – Cover camera: 10mp with f/2.2 aperture – Underscreen camera: 4mp and f/1.8 aperture |
| Internal Memory | 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB type UFS 3.1 |
| Processor and RAM | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 For Galaxy Processor 12 GB RAM |
| Battery | Dual 4,400 mAh battery and 25W fast charging (50% mobile charge in half an hour with 25W adapter or 3A USB-C cable, charger sold separately) Fast wireless charging 2.0 PowerShare wireless charging |
| OS | Android 13 One UI 5.1.1 |
| Connections | 5G WiFi 6E Bluetooth 5.3 USB C 3.1 NFC GPS |
| SIM | Dual nano SIM or an eSIM |
| Design | Ice Blue, Phantom Black, Cream, Grey, Blue. Armor Aluminum frames and hinge. Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass surfaces. |
| Dimensions | – Folded: 67.1 x 154.9 x 13.4mm – Unfolded: 129.9x 154.9 x 6.1mm – Weight: 253 grams |
| Featured Features | IPX8 resistance, more extensive flow functions between screens, toolbars and actions, support for new S Pen, fingerprint sensor on the side button, guaranteed resistance of 200,000 folds (100 folds a day for 5 years), Flex Hinge (shaped drop that folds almost completely). Support for new cases that include a new S Pen (sold separately). New Flex mode with more features and settings at the bottom of the screen. Function to drag files between apps. |
| Release date | Available from August 11 |
| Price | 256GB model: €1,909 512GB model: €2,029 1TB model: €2,269 |
Once again, Samsung has not innovated in the camera department and brings the photographic experience of the Samsung Galaxy S23 to this Galaxy Z Fold. This will be tested in detail in a future analysis. However, there is a slight improvement in the flexible screen, which now reaches peak brightness of 1,750 nits, making it even more visible outdoors, even under direct sunlight.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 comes to the market with three storage memory sizes: 256GB (€1,910), 512GB (€2,030), or 1TB of capacity (€2,270). Additionally, it is possible to choose from different finish colors: Ice Blue, Phantom Black, Cream, Gray, and Blue.
