Samsung launched two foldable phones recently, a flip phone that’s getting the bulk of the attention due to its much-improved larger outer screen, and a larger foldable that, while very capable, doesn’t improve too much over the predecessor. Even if the smaller flip phone is the buzz of the industry right now, I chose to review the larger foldable first anyway, because I still feel like this is the way foldables should go: they should give us a phone that can transform into a tablet, so we have more screen to consume content or be productive.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 accomplishes that and more. As the name suggests, we are now in the fifth generation of Samsung’s large foldable, and to be honest, after making some major changes to the second-gen Fold, Samsung has mostly kept the same formula for years three, four and five, opting to make refinements to the existing formula instead of making wholesale changes. This is both good and bad.
The good: the Fold 5 feels extremely refined and well-constructed. Most of the early concerns about foldable phones, such as whether the screen can handle being opened and closed 100 times a day for years, or if the hinge with moving parts will malfunction, seem total paranoia now. The Fold 5 is built like a tank, and all the moving parts feel rock solid. The hinge is precise and sturdy, able to stay in place at any angle, and either snaps open or closes shut with a satisfying snap. There’s nothing about this phone that makes me feel like I need to be gentle with it. The Fold 5 feels like the final form of a piece of hardware Samsung first introduced in 2020.
But the bad is also obvious: with what is essentially a four-year-old design, there’s not much exciting about the phone, and it’s why Samsung’s own marketing team has thrown the majority of its promotional budget behind the smaller Flip 5, because that phone actually looks new. Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Honor, meanwhile, are pumping out entirely new looking foldable phones every year, so from a basic visceral standpoint, it’s just easier to get excited about the ultra-thin new Honor foldable or the upcoming Xiaomi foldable with two Leica-branded zoom cameras, than a Fold 5 that looks almost the same as the Fold 4, and the Fold 3 before that.
Google also launched a foldable phone of its own in the U.S. that directly takes on Samsung. Google’s Pixel Fold is thinner, but sports a larger battery. Although Samsung’s device has a better screen, hinge and feels more premium, Google’s foldable is competition for Samsung in the South Korean tech giant’s biggest market.
There is, however, one noticeable change in the Fold 5 compared to the Fold 4: It can now fold flat. Meaning when closed, there isn’t a noticeable gap at the folding point. This deserves praise—to a point. It’s great Samsung made this fix, but it’s also years late, as Chinese brands have been gapless since 2020.
This new gap-free design comes courtesy of a new streamlined hinge with fewer moving parts. It’s still water resistance at IPX8 level, and allows the Fold 5 to shed another 9g off its overall weight (it’s now 253g) and a couple of mm off its overall thickness (13.4mm). This does improve the in-hand feel of the Fold 5 a bit over the Fold 4.
There’s also the expected processor upgrade to the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy,” the latter a mostly meaningless branding that means the chip has been overclocked. The same version of the chip is coming to other Android phones soon. It’s still a flagship chip—the best in Android—just not as special as Samsung marketing would have you think.
Everything else about the Fold 5 is nearly identical as the Fold 4. The screen dimensions, resolution, camera hardware, battery size, construction material are all exactly the same. The display is marginally brighter, but not so much that you’ll notice.
Like I said, there’s a superficial side of me that feels a bit bored by this same old design, but if I take a step back and look at the Fold 5 from a consumer’s point of view, this is the most proven design, the hardware with the most years of tinkering and polishing. Sure, Honor’s new ultra-thin foldable is more eye-catching (it’s significantly thinner and lighter than the Fold 5), but will it last as long? Will the hinge hold up to as many folds? Can it survive being used out in the rain? These are fair questions.
What’s also a fair question is why can’t Samsung give us a bit more innovation along with the polishing. The Fold 5 is lighter and thinner than previous Folds, but still thicker and heavier than most recent Chinese foldables. Surely, Samsung can do what Xiaomi, Honor, Oppo and figured out?
Moving to the software side, the Fold 5’s is excellent, and probably the best software of all the foldable phones. It has a robust and intuitive multitasking system, and lots of third-party apps like Spotify, YouTube and Netflix are optimized for the foldable form factor. There’s a task bar at the bottom of the phone that allows quick app switching. It’s a small touch but makes using a larger screen device that much more enjoyable.
Battery life for the Fold 5 is solid, although it basically remains unchanged from the Fold 4. This is a phone that can last a full day on most days, but on heavier usage days, will need an early evening top-up to make it to the finish line.
Overall, the Fold 5 is a premium foldable phone that does what it’s supposed to do—a single device that can double as a phone or a small tablet. Most of the compromises that came with using a foldable phone three years ago have been fixed (except for the relatively high price). This is a machine excellent for multitasking, for on-the-go professionals who are constantly answering emails and reading documents. For those who have long bus/train commutes and would like to catch up on Netflix on a larger screen. It’s a great phone, just a bit unexciting, and it Chinese competitors are offering something more fun, more dynamic, but perhaps less polished.
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