Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: What foldable flip phones should be

Pros:
– Flex Window screen is a lot bigger and more practical to use
– Redesigned hinge, solid built quality
– Awesome main display
– No gap when folded
– IPX8 water resistant
– Widgets on the screen work well
– Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
– Compact form factor

Cons:
– Pricey for its specifications
– Cameras could have a lot better for its price
– Battery life could have been better
– Apps transition weirdly from the main display to the smaller display
– Flex screen could have supported more apps natively
– Need to download and set up Good Lock for more functionality of the cover display
– Lacks rating for dust protection

Rating: 4.75/5
Pricing: Starts at Rs 99,999 for the 256GB+8GB variant

Just about a month ago, the Motorola Moto Razr 40 Ultra set the bar for what a flip-styled foldable smartphone should be in 2023. Then Samsung came along with its Galaxy Z Fold 5, and took back the crown.

The outbound Galaxy Z Fold 4 was a pretty solid foldable phone, albeit with some issues. The new Galaxy Z Fold 5, takes all of those issues and tosses them away. The biggest highlight is the all-new cover display, which, at 3.4 inches. However, there’s a lot more to the Z Flip 5.

With increasing competition from the likes of Motorola and Oppo, Samsung has to proceed cautiously. They can’t go in all guns blazing at once, nor can they update each iteration in an extremely staggered manner. They will need to pace themselves. And that’s what Samsung has done with the Galaxy Z Flip 5.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: Design
On the surface, it looks like the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s new, bigger outer display is the biggest change. However, one upgrade that is even more consequential than the outer display, is that Samsung is using an all-new hinge mechanism. Because of this, the phone closes with no gap in between the two halves.

And you can even tell from the way the foldable opens up and closes that the hinge is a new and better design. It feels a lot more smoother, and yet a lot sturdier. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with an IPX8 rating, which means that it can survive some splashes of water, without any worries. Just keep it away from dust and you’re good to go.

When it comes to the overall look and foldable design, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 isn’t drastically different from its predecessor. It has the same placement of the buttons and the fingerprint scanner, as the Fold 4. And aside from the two main cameras poking out on the cover screen, there’s an additional in-screen camera on the main display. The earpiece doubles up as a speaker, giving you that sweet stereo speaker setup.

The device, obviously, looks very premium in the hand, but more importantly, it also feels very premium, like it has been built really well. Yes, you cannot open up the device using just one hand, but it snaps close pretty easily and smoothly.

The Galaxy Fold 5 comes in a bunch of cool colours, like Graphite, Cream, Lavender, and a really pleasant Mint. I had the mint-coloured one as my variant, and it looks awesome, although not as awesome as the Lavender. You can also get a special edition Grey, Blue and Green, only from Samsung’s website.

Then, there is the outer display, the main highlight of the Galaxy Flip 5. It isn’t perfectly squared–in fact, it has a weird shape to accommodate those two main cameras. However, the screen has been given a massive upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: Displays
Let’s take a look at the cover display first. The new Flex Window is a big step up from last year’s Cover Display. It’s a 3.4-inch Super AMOLED screen that’s super smooth with a 60Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 720X748, and comes with Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Do note, that the shape isn’t a proper rectangle and is shaped like a folder icon. The display is tack-sharp and looks very crisp. But the real game-changer here is the size.

With a bigger screen, you get to see more stuff all at once, and all the buttons become way easier to hit.

When you swipe left, you’ll find a bunch of standard widgets. Dragging down from the home page gets you to quick settings, and swiping right shows your notifications. You can also see all of your widgets with a new pinch move that lets you zoom out.

Although you can’t run every app on the Flex Window, Samsung did make a bunch of them work great on this smaller screen. You’ve to tweak some settings to enable it, but once you do, you can open up Google Maps, YouTube, Netflix, Messages, and WhatsApp on the outside display. However, the functionality is a bit limited. You cannot run most of the apps directly.

What Samsung has done, is allow users to install an app called Good Lock from Samsung’s Galaxy Store. Using that, you can use practically any app on the cover screen. This is a functionality that shouldn’t need a separate app and should be enabled natively.

Barring this, the Flip 5’s software for the cover display is actually very refined and allows users to use it properly. Even though the screen is half of what we have become used to, you can actually chat away on any of your messaging app.

Now, let’s talk about the main display. We get a 6.7-inch Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, with a refresh rate of 120Hz, support for HDR10+. With a resolution of 2640X1080, the display has a peak brightness of 1750 nits.

It’s pretty much the same display that we saw last year, and it still continues to be pretty impressive. The colours really stand out and catch your eye. It’s super contrasty and punchy – a real joy to use the display, no matter what you’re doing.

What’s cool is how the phone’s design lets you bend it into an L-shape for taking pictures and use it as its own stand. And if you prop it up at a 45-degree angle, it’s perfect for watching videos.

You also get a ton of new options in the flex mode, or when you pop the device up between roughly 20 and 160 degrees, which allows certain apps to work really well. Take YouTube, for instance; it still keeps the video up top while you can smoothly scroll through the comments below.

This year though, they have added a few features. After a bit of toggling through a few hidden settings, you have the option to show a button at the lower left corner of every app. When you tap it, the Flex dashboard pops up. This dashboard gives you shortcuts to cool stuff like taking a screenshot, swiping down the notifications panel, and more.

Now, let’s address the two elephants in the room. First, the display’s 9:22 quirky aspect ratio takes a bit of getting used to, but over time, you really do adjust to it.

The second issue is that crease which may seem pesky at first, especially if you haven’t used a foldable before, but after a while, you kind of stop noticing it. Of course, you can feel it when you swipe your finger across, and it definitely catches the light in certain angles, but it surprisingly doesn’t really get in the way of your everyday use.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: Camera
Samsung has stuck to the same dual 12MP camera setup for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as it did with the Z Flip 4. It’s a standard 12MP f/1.8 main sensor, paired with a 12Mp 2.2 ultrawide sensor. True to Samsung’s style, it’s packed with a ton of features.

The images from the Z Flip 5 are pretty much the same that we got to see in last year’s Flip 4 However, that’s not a bad thing necessarily – the photos these cameras produce are still pretty awesome. Snapshots taken from the main two cameras on the cover display bring out vivid blue skies and reds that truly stand out.

And, using the external 12-megapixel cameras has become a much better experience, all thanks to the Flex Window.

While the camera performance is pretty good, there are a few trade-offs you’ll have to consider. If you’re used to having a telephoto lens in your photographic arsenal, you’ll definitely notice its absence.

Having said that, the camera is not what you’re paying for. You’re buying a specific kind of lifestyle device. However, in a phone as expensive as this, the camera has to be top-notch.

You can check out a few unedited samples from the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s cameras here.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: Performance, software experience and UI
Inside the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 designed specifically for Galaxy. It’s a slightly faster version of the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. This is the very same processor powering the Galaxy S23 series and, of course, the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The Flip 5 comes with 8GB of RAM and has UFS 4.0 storage in both its 256GB and 512GB variants.

Thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor, the Flip 5 performs just as well as top-tier phones like the Galaxy S23+. Out of the box, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 operates on Android 13 with OneUI 5.1. The UI is sleek and user-friendly. Samsung usually keeps bloatware to a minimum on their high-end top of line and devices and their flagship phones.

No matter what I threw at Flip 5, it didn’t slow down at all. It did pretty well in benchmarks and handled even the most demanding games pretty well, There were no stutters or frames to drop of any sort in games like BGMI and COD Mobile, even at maxed-out graphics, and it did not get uncomfortably hot during long gaming sessions.

I don’t really think the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a device meant for heavy-duty gaming or for demanding tasks. It’s just not built with that in mind. But even if you do decide to use it for those purposes, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 won’t let you down.

With the Galaxy Z Flip 5, we also get Samsung’s long-term commitment to the software where they’re pledging four years of major OS updates along with five years of security patches.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: Battery
Samsung has stuck with the same 3,700mAh battery that was used in the Flip 4. It’s pretty decent to keep you going through a regular day of use, but don’t expect it to last much longer than that, especially if you’re a power user.

We got about 5 hours of screen-on time during our testing period. This means, if you live your life on your phone, you’ll certainly need to top up the phone at least once every day. The power-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip makes up for the larger Flex Window. However, if you’re going to use the smaller display most of the time, the battery will last you much longer.

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see a charging brick included in the box, so you’ll need to get a 25W adapter. It takes about 90 minutes to fully charge the phone. The good news is that you get USB 3.2 instead of last year’s USB 2.0

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: Verdict
Before we give you a verdict on the Galaxy Z Flip 5, we need to make one thing absolutely. Foldable smartphones are not meant for everyone, especially if you’re the sort of person who uses their devices very roughly or keeps their devices for a long time.

The hinge, no matter what device you’re using, does cause issues. Moreover, there are problems with dust and durability.

As for the Galaxy Z Flip 5, it is a pretty solid phone, even when you consider regular phones. Samsung’s decision to enlarge the cover screen is a clear invitation to make better use of the Galaxy Flip 5 even when it’s folded. This is particularly useful for folks aiming to cut down on their screen time. You can conveniently check notifications, respond to messages, take quick peeks at social media, and then get back to the real world. However, Samsung needs to work on app support for the smaller display.

It is expensive for its specifications, especially when you consider its price and specifications. The camera, although it puts out great photos and videos, is an old one. The battery could have been a lot better.

Having said all that, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is one of the most practical flip-styled foldable devices in the market – it certainly is the best one. So it becomes a lot easier to recommend the device if you’re searching for something unique, stylish, and practical – a device with a distinct folding design, dual screens, and solid performance.