The year was 2020 and Samsung took to the stage to announce the Galaxy Z Flip, its first flip-style foldable smartphone. Unlike the Motorola Razr which got all the praise for its large cover display and a nostalgic connection, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip prioritised style and high-end specifications. Its measly cover display was only big enough to show notification icons and the time. However, successive generations of the Galaxy Z Flip never lost track of being a style-conscious flip smartphone, even at the cost of practicality. People loved it and so did critics. So it makes sense to expect something similar from the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Carrying the baton for Samsung’s most accessible flip smartphone, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 marches to the beat of its own drum, even when it faces severe competition. On one hand, you have the extremely tempting Motorola Razr 40 Ultra with its unbelievable display combo, and on the other, Chinese-origin brands like Oppo, Vivo and Honor trying to copy the homework. Moreover, Samsung no longer has the price advantage it used to enjoy with the previous generation models.
Hence, in this review, our purpose is to figure out whether the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has enough substance to demand your hard-earned money.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s specifications
Display: 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X 1Hz-120Hz
Cover Display: 3.4-inch 60Hz Super AMOLED
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB / 512GB
Battery: 3,700mAh, 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging
OS: One UI 5.1.1 based on Android 13
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review
Still a style icon
In my humble opinion, it was the first-generation Galaxy Z Flip that was truly a style icon, with all of its successive models looking bland in comparison. Usually, opting for a bigger cover display tends to rob a smartphone of its identity, but Samsung has somehow managed to get it right with the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The folder-shaped cover display (or Samsung’s Flex Window) is as iconic as the iPhone’s display notch with Dynamic Island. As it doesn’t wrap the dual cameras as the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra does, the Flip 5 has a distinct identity. Coupled with the Armor Aluminium frame and the beautiful Mint colourway, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is easily one of the prettiest smartphones I have seen this year, if not the prettiest. It’s an attention magnet.
It’s also built to the highest standards recognised in the world of flip smartphones. It feels tough and thanks to the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection, can survive waist-high drops easily. The new hinge also feels firm and offers enough resistance to hold the top half at any angle.
While it will survive accidental splashes of water courtesy of its IPX8 certification, its dust resistance is still questionable. I had given last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 4 a tough time outdoors and it survived just fine. So, my hopes for the Flip 5 faring better seem justified.
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The big cover display is a gamechanger
It would have been easier for Samsung to simply let users run the entire phone from its new 3.4-inches Flex Window, just as Motorola does with the Razr 40 Ultra. However, some thought was given to designing the cover display and I am glad to see it run an optimised interface that offers limited functionality. After all, there should be an incentive to experience the nicer, bigger and more practical main display.
Coming back to the Flex Window, the idea of the new (and larger) cover display is to let you quickly glance at messages or mail notifications and give quick replies with a compact QWERTY keyboard. It does this task quite well and about 99 per cent of the time, I never found myself flipping open the Galaxy Z Flip 5 to reply to a WhatsApp message or make a call while on the move.
I enabled the Samsung Labs feature from the Settings menu to allow some apps to run in a scaled-down version. This gave me access to a compact version of WhatsApp, Messages and even YouTube! It is funny to watch YouTube videos on a tiny screen but there’s an uncanny satisfaction in doing so (it sounds weird, but you should try it out). And if you feel adventurous, just download the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store and, after fiddling with the settings, you can run almost all apps and games on the cover display.
But the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is more than its cover display. The primary 6.7-inch display is one of the best screens you can get on a premium smartphone. It’s a vibrant AMOLED panel with a varying refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz. In typical Samsung fashion, the display is tuned to make your WhatsApp chats or Instagram feed look bright and jolly. The taller aspect ratio results in thick black letterboxes when watching conventional 16:9 videos but it is a big relief when scrolling through lists or menus. The Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG), along with the pre-installed screen protector, promises to survive the rough outdoors and everyday use, so long as you exercise caution.
No compromises on performance
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip had proven its mettle on the Galaxy S23 series, and it carries its reliable performance and great power efficiency over to the Galaxy Z Flip 5. Samsung’s One UI 5.1 is well-optimised to extract every bit of performance in the most efficient manner and this is evident in the way it runs. Whether you stick to the basics (using WhatsApp, checking emails, making calls, doing online payments or partaking in casual photography) or perform demanding tasks (like gaming, shooting videos, spending hours on social media and video conferencing), the Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn’t shed a drop of sweat. In the pleasant monsoon temperatures, I haven’t observed the phone uncontrollably heating up even while gaming.
Most of the matured performance is attributed to the One UI experience and in 2023, Samsung offers the most polished Android experience. There are still lots of things to customise and truckloads of hidden smart features to play with, but nothing is shoved into your face. It’s all optional. I personally like the aesthetical choices One UI makes with its interface design. The Flip 5’s One UI is based on Android 13 and Samsung promises to deliver four major OS updates and five years of security patches, thereby keeping the phone relevant until 2028.
You also shouldn’t face any issues with the Flip 5’s network performance. I had no connectivity issues on Airtel’s 5G network, getting download speeds upwards of 600Mbps. The call quality is also top-notch.
However, not everything is as rosy. The audio out of the stereo loudspeaker system is good enough for daily use but not on the same levels as the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The haptic feedback also feels a notch below the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy S23 series. Samsung’s keyboard doesn’t provide the most comfortable typing experience and you need to install Gboard separately for typing comfortably.
Social media ‘tuned’ cameras
The cameras on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 are tuned in a way to take photos that need no more tinkering before being posted on social media. This may be good for most people who love bright and colourful photos on all occasions but not so much for those seeking professional-grade imaging. There are two 12-megapixel cameras on the back (or front, considering this is a flip phone?) with a combination of generic wide and ultra-wide lenses.
The main camera is the best one on the Flip 5 that puts up a fine show of great tuning. The colour saturation is on the higher side (as is the case with most Samsung phones) but the white balance, exposure management and noise control are spot on. Daylight photos look amazing and the same can be said for the ones shot at night, although they tend to deviate from reality. You are always bound to get a visually appealing iteration of what you see on the viewfinder, especially at night.
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The Flip 5’s party trick, however, is the way it captures selfies. You have a 10-megapixel selfie camera nestled in the main display that captures great pictures, showcasing good skin tones, well-balanced exposure and a decent dynamic range. However, when folded shut, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 offers its dual 12-megapixel camera for selfies, which naturally takes the highest quality of selfies possible on any phone in its segment. The same benefits extend to selfie videos, which showcase great dynamic range, good noise suppression and impressive exposure controls. The video recording performance can rival the iPhone 14, even in 4K at 60 fps. Set it down in a half-folded state and you get a tripod-like effect in your videos and photos, which is a pretty cool benefit of using the Flip 5.
All-day battery life, finally!
I was sceptical of Samsung’s choice to stick to the puny 3,700mAh battery, especially considering the larger 60Hz cover display. However, the benefits of the power-efficient Snapdragon chip and Samsung’s greatly optimised One UI 5.1 OS outweigh the physical limitations. I am surprised to see the Galaxy Z Flip 5 survive an entire busy workday consistently over the last ten days, with 10-20 per cent juice remaining. This is astonishing considering that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 could barely make it through the evening with similar usage. It even outlasts my Pixel 7 Pro, which has a massive 5,000mAh battery. Good job, Samsung.
Samsung’s 25W wired charging doesn’t seem fast enough on paper but it only needs to charge a small 3,700mAh battery. Hence, a full top-up from 5 per cent takes around an hour, give or take a few minutes. The 15W wireless charging is another convenience to have if you have wireless charging solutions available in your vicinity.
Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: The final verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is easily the biggest upgrade since the Galaxy Z Flip 3. From a technical perspective, it has got the fastest smartphone chipset, an all-day battery life and a pair of good cameras, all of which culminate to offer a premium user experience. These improvements alone make a strong case for upgrading to the Galaxy Z Flip 5, even if you got the Flip 4 last year. The cover display and the improved battery life are the key upgrades we were looking for and Samsung has truly delivered on that front.
Compared to its competition, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still the well-rounded package you can’t go wrong with. Starting at a price of HKD 8,298, the Flip 5 offers the power and efficiency of the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship chip, which none of its rivals offer – the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra and the Oppo Find N2 Flip use last year’s chipsets. These two phones also don’t offer the levels of refinement in terms of build quality and software that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 offers.
However, the main reason why the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be more sought after than its predecessors has to do with its style-conscious approach. The Flip 5 flaunts a bold identity that no other flip smartphone can dare of boasting, not even the Razr 40 Ultra. It’s got this big and unique cover display but the software doesn’t allow it to overshadow the superior folding display. The design is glitzy and the build quality is solid. What’s not to love?
In a world of boring iPhones and Galaxy S23s, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a style icon with an air of exclusivity that lets you break free of monotony. With the added dose of practicality now, we can recommend it blindly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the launch date for Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5?
– The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 was launched on July 26 at Galaxy Unpacked in Seoul, South Korea.
What is the price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5?
– The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at a price of HKD 8,298 for the base 8GB/256GB variant.
What are the specifications for Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5?
– The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a 6.7-inch 120Hz FHD+ display, a 3.4-inch Flex Window, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, up to 512GB storage, dual 12-megapixel main cameras and a 3,700mAh battery with 25W wired charging.
What colours are available in Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5?
– The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is available in Mint, Graphite, Lavender and Cream.
(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Augustman / Amritanshu Mukherjee)
