As a mobile enthusiast with access to basically every phone, I can be snarky about the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. Its biggest hardware improvement (and the only visible one you can easily spot) over last year’s Z Fold 4 is a streamlined hinge and folding mechanism that allow the phone to fold flat — you know, four years after brands like Motorola and Huawei figured out how to do so. And while the Z Fold 5 manages to shed thickness to 11.4mm and weight down to 253g, these numbers still fall far short of the recently launched ultra-sleek Honor Magic V2 foldable.
But that type of enthusiast mentality doesn’t matter much to the average consumer, particularly in the West. Chinese foldables have no presence in North America, and their Europe releases are plagued by delays, inconsistent pricing, and poor after-sales service. Factor in that Samsung foldables have more polished software that plays nicer with Google apps, and the Galaxy Z Fold series is still the best overall large foldable for most people. Sure, Google has entered the foldable competition, but the Pixel Fold is only selling in four countries and isn’t even better than the Fold 4, let alone the Fold 5.
Even if the Fold 5 doesn’t bring as much eye-catching hardware innovation as I think it should have, it’s still a refined foldable with mature hardware and software. And the improved hinge really helps with the in-hand feel, which has been one of my biggest gripes against the Fold series over the past few years.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a further refinement to the Z Fold lineup. The smartphone looks similar to past Z Fold iterations, featuring a 7.6-inch main screen and a tall cover screen. On the inside, it’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a 4,400mAh battery.
During preorders, you can score up to $1,000 with trade-ins at Samsung.com.
- Brand
- Samsung
- SoC
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy (4nm)
- Display
- 7.6-inch AMOLED main screen, 6.2-inch AMOLED cover screen, both with 120Hz adaptative refresh rate
- RAM
- 12GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
- Battery
- 4,400mAh dual battery
- Ports
- USB-C
- Operating System
- One UI 5.1.1 (Android 13)
- Front camera
- 10MP cover camera, 4MP under-display main screen camera
- Rear cameras
- 12MP ultrawide, 50MP wide-angle, 10MP telephoto
- Connectivity
- SIM and eSIM
- Dimensions
- 6.1 x 2.64 x 0.53 inches folded, 6.1 x 5.11 x .24 inches unfolded
- Colors
- Icy Blue, Phantom Black, Cream, (Samsung exclusive: Gray, Blue)
- Weight
- 8.92 ounces (252.88 grams)
- Charging
- Up to 50% in 30 minutes (25W wired), Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, Wireless PowerShare
- IP Rating
- IPX8
- Price
- Starting at $1,800
- Micro SD card support
- No
- Stylus type
- S Pen Fold Edition (sold separately)
- Security
- Samsung Knox, Samsung Knox Vault
Design and hardware
Important baby steps
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 looks very similar to the Z Fold 4. The overall dimensions when unfolded are nearly identical, and the new model is only thinner when folded because it folds flat, not because Samsung actually managed to slim the body down. But that improved hinge matters because it doesn’t protrude from the device’s left edge as much as before, so when I hold the phone with the left hand, I’m not feeling the hinge as much.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 hinge (left) and Z Fold 4 hinge (right)
The pointy hinge corners, which I have complained about previously, have also been made rounder, which further improves the in-hand feel. The removal of the gap when closed lets the Fold 5 feel closer to a slab device when folded, unlike previous Folds, which felt like a metallic taco — I could always feel that one side was thicker than the other.
The two screen sizes and resolution are the same as the Fold 4’s: an elongated 6.2-inch 2316×904 cover display and a 7.6-inch 2176×1812 inner folding display. The inner screen enjoys a maximum brightness bump to 1,750 nits (the same as the Galaxy S23 Ultra) and a slightly shallower crease, while the outer screen remains identical to the Z Fold 4. The main panel also still supports the S Pen Fold Edition, and there’s a new version that’s thinner than before.
Like I said at the beginning, if I look at all the existing foldables I have, the Fold 5’s marginally improved crease isn’t anything to write home about, but compared solely against the Fold 4 or the Pixel Fold, the Fold 5’s screen looks great.
And Samsung continues to beat out just about everybody else with its hinge. Opening and closing the Fold 5 is just a very satisfying experience. The hinge feels rock steady yet flexible, and it can stay in place at any angle and close with a great thud. I also love the custom bespoke colors with pastel colored backs and dark hinge. These colors, however, are only available via Samsung’s store and requires a longer wait time than usual.
The Fold 5 also got the expected processor bump, to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. This extra branding at the end just signifies a slightly overclocked chip that gives it a marginally higher ceiling than other Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips in rival devices. Still, this is technically the most powerful chip in Android devices right now. I also noticed the Fold has a larger copper cooling plate inside, which, combined with the more efficient Qualcomm chip, should result in better battery life — or, at the very least, I hope so because the battery size, along with almost every other hardware component, are the same as the Fold 4’s.
The Z Fold 5’s copper cooling plate is noticeably larger than the Fold 4’s.
This means, sadly, the camera hardware of the Fold 5 has also been carried over. This is disappointing to me as a mobile photography enthusiast who expects every annual upgrade to bring some hardware improvements. That said, the Fold 4’s cameras have proven to be very reliable over the past year of use, and between the new Qualcomm ISP and further software optimization from Samsung, you should still get slightly better camera performance. I couldn’t test the cameras enough during the limited hands-on session to see how he Fold 5’s cameras stack up against the Google Pixel Fold’s, which I just called the second best foldable camera phone camera behind the Huawei Mate X3.
The Fold 5 (left) and the Pixel Fold (right)
Overall, I have two thoughts on the Fold 5’s hardware so far. My gut instinct is disappointment because it doesn’t change enough from the Fold 4, but I also know the improved hinge, newer chip, and superior cooling is going to improve overall usability significantly.
Software
What sets Samsung foldables apart
Earlier I said Samsung’s hinge is the best across the foldable industry. The second clear win for Samsung foldables is software, and the Fold 5 should keep that crown. I only had limited time with the device, but I saw new Flex Mode capabilities when playing videos that could, for example, turn the bottom half of the display into a trackpad that allows you to use swipe gestures to adjust brightness, volume, and scrub through the video. There’s also a new sub-menu that allows the user to launch a second app in the bottom half of the screen without interrupting the video playing in the top half.
The taskbar that shows recently used apps at the bottom returns, and is still the easiest way to quickly cycle through multiple apps in any phone I’ve used. Samsung’s floating window and split-screen capabilities are also the strongest among all foldables, supporting both landscape and portrait orientation splits when even many Chinese foldables do not. You can also drag and drop files between two Samsung apps running in split-screen mode. Samsung says more apps have been optimized for the Fold 5’s foldable form, including TikTok and Instagram, but I didn’t have the time to test that.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Early thoughts
I’m not going to sugarcoat it; I still think the Honor Magic V2 has better hardware than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, and I personally like the Pixel Fold’s wider outside screen more than the Fold 5’s elongated one. But the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the most polished and complete foldable phone, with the most optimized apps, the best multitasking capabilities, the most software features, and it’s perhaps the most rugged and durable too (although the latter is just an educated guess).
I’ve criticized Samsung in the past for playing it safe, aiming for polish and mass appeal more than chasing cutting-edge innovation. The Fold 5 doesn’t change that view much. Samsung surely has the mean to give the device a design overhaul and include much-requested changes like a wider screen, thinner body, periscope zoom lens, and more. But Samsung is also trying to keep the Fold 5’s price reasonable — at least relatively speaking for foldables — and sticking with what works. The Fold series is no longer flashy, and it’s not as stylish as the Flip 5. Instead, the Fold 5 seems to be just a very practical foldable to get work done. I will have a full review of the device in the coming days. Stay tuned!
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a further refinement to the Z Fold lineup. The smartphone looks similar to past Z Fold iterations, featuring a 7.6-inch main screen and a tall cover screen. On the inside, it’s powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a 4,400mAh battery.
During preorders, you can score up to $1,000 with trade-ins at Samsung.com.