Review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5
Our Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is a beautiful folding phone, with Samsung’s classic quality, great UI, and top-tier performance. While it’s just an incremental change – it is very similar to the Fold4 in a lot of ways – that doesn’t mean the tweaks don’t keep it at the head of the market.
- Excellent performance
- Gorgeous inner screen
- Very well-rounded
- Not the most useable cover display
- Same old design
Although there has been a lot more competition in the past year or two, Samsung has been dominating the foldable industry for a very long time. Samsung's most recent models in both the best foldable phones and best flip phones categories should be well-received, as our lists have grown significantly.
They don't, however, and that's OK. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, which we've had a lot of time with, feels a lot like the Z Fold4. Every advancement is much appreciated, and the Fold5 is by far the most sophisticated folding phone available at the moment. However, other competitors' efforts are clearly a little more intriguing.
Prior to delving into the subtleties of this viewpoint, allow us to begin with the fundamentals of our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 review:
Cost and accessibility
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is offered by a number of international stores and network carriers. It's available from all of the top UK phone operators and is one of the best AT&T phones in the US. In addition to the normal Phantom Black, Icy Blue, and Cream, there are two unique colors available if you purchase it straight from the Samsung website: Grey and Blue. Every variant has 12GB of RAM.
Specifications of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5:Attributes
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5's main selling point is—well—that it folds. With Samsung's advancements in folding screen quality and longevity, the Fold5 is unquestionably the phone I would most trust to endure for a respectable period of time. Even while it's an improvement over the previous model, we still wouldn't advise purchasing a folding phone if you want to use it for five years.
Although the screen crease in the middle isn't nearly as thin as Oppo's or other models I've tested, it doesn't really matter since it's a vertical line. Almost usually, you're not really sliding over the crease; you're just sliding up and down.
As usual, the folding flexibility offers additional, unclear benefits. The bottom half of the screen may be used as a touchpad or controller by sitting the phone up in the Nintendo DS configuration. If you would like, you may position it so that the outer screen is supported by the other half of the phone, forming a kind of long V, and watch a movie on it. I don't think any of these setups are really helpful in any real-world scenario, but maybe you do.
But the OS features designed specifically for foldable devices are beneficial. You can multitask just as on a tablet because of the additional size. You can drag a window to the next one so that you have two windows the size of a normal phone next to one another. You may use YouTube to write a message, scan an email, or do any other combination that involves YouTube. In other words, YouTube is the sole reason I ever multitask.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 has a dock at the bottom with some recently or often used applications in it to help with this. Strangely, this addition is much larger than it seems. The phone is intelligent enough to suggest applications based on your needs, which speeds up switching between them and completing tasks. Cool.
Camera
Three camera lenses are available for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5: a 12 MP ultrawide, a 10 MP telephoto with a 3x optical zoom, and a 50 MP primary camera. Though the Z Fold5 is also a wonderful illustration of why camera specifications aren't all that useful, overall, photos seem okay. It's extremely simple to get something nice out of the phone, but considering that it costs around two thousand dollars, it might be difficult to acquire something really amazing under difficult circumstances.
However, the cameras perform well in normal daylight conditions, and Samsung's processing goes a little farther with this version to maintain aesthetic appeal. On paper, the cameras haven't become any better, but according to the manufacturer, software has improved. It's a well-rounded configuration when you combine this with the extensive feature set of the camera app—which is much the same as all other Samsung phones.
Though it is obviously a matter of choice, I find that nighttime images tend to be a little too realistic. While the telephoto and macro lenses excel in terms of adaptability, don't anticipate any of the magic we discuss in our Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra review camera section. If you're an avid photographer, be aware of the price you pay for this device.
With this review, we also conducted a fun experiment: we used the Z Flip5's camera to snap all of the product images. When it becomes online, check out our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 review to see even more images taken with the Fold5's camera.
Design
On paper, the Z Fold5's differences from its predecessor are a little subtle, but in practice, they are far more noticeable. The two displays now fold flat, eliminating the little space between them and giving the phone a more substantial, high-end feel overall. Even though it's a little adjustment, it has a significant impact.
Along with aluminum edge rails, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 is also included on the front and rear screens. Although the inside screen should be handled carefully since it is made of plastic, this is helpful for longevity. When closed, however, everything seems quite solid. Although it isn't dust resistant, IPX8 water resistance is good, allowing immersion for thirty minutes up to 1.5 meters. It wouldn't go to the beach with me.
It everything seems a little bit more upscale than before, the hinge is a little bit less shaky, and it folds together like a well-mannered magnetic book. Though I never really intended to use the phone this way, its robustness does make it difficult to unlock with one hand. You almost always need two hands to use a tablet in full screen mode.
The fact that the Galaxy Z Fold5's design is so identical to what we've been using for a few years is maybe the greatest flaw in it. When you look at the current foldable tablet industry, you will see that most phones deviate significantly from Samsung's design. In addition to the very thin products from Xiaomi and Honor, there are the passport-style devices from Google and Oppo.
Overall, it seems that the majority of the rivals provide a more functional external display, which makes their phones more appealing. Honor's V Purse is all exterior screen, which advances the concept significantly (even if it's only a concept phone, of course). Although we advise visiting a shop to test out many foldables before making a purchase, it's amazing to see how consistent Samsung's selection has been. It really comes down to personal choice.
Displays
The inside display of the Z Fold5 is perhaps its greatest feature, both literally and metaphorically. Although folding screens weren't perfect in the beginning, this version is excellent. With a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a pixel density of around 370, it looks great; but, if you want more accurate color, I would suggest disabling the vivid display option. The primary advantage of the Fold5 is its internal display's increased brightness, which greatly improves its use outdoors. It reaches at 1,750 nits, which is a really stunning and more than sufficient brightness.
It is really stunning in usage. The aspect ratio and the way it feels are the only possible problems. long it may take some getting accustomed to, the former is obviously a matter of personal choice and becomes unnoticeable after using it for a long. Conversely, the aspect ratio might make certain objects seem a little strange. The screen is somewhat larger while watching a video than it is on a typical phone, and there are now large black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. It's a little strange, but OK.
Playing games on the internal screen, however, might be even more peculiar. The performance assessment below features our Genshin shots, however playing the game in an almost-square setup does make it much more difficult. It's unusual that you see less of the game environment.Aside from the size issues, the external display is superb. Once again, at 120Hz, so it seems sleek and quick on any screen. Again, the aspect ratio is the sole problem; if you're not a foldable enthusiast, you'll have to get accustomed to messaging on a screen that is a little too tiny.
Entry Level
The Z Fold5 has more than enough battery life. Despite having the same capacity battery as its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 offers an hour or two extra of use due to its 4,400mAh internal battery and efficiency improvements.
Though not much shorter than typical top-end flagships, it is nevertheless a bit shorter. It is absolutely possible to use a phone for two days without issue, however frequent users may wish to charge it every night. A positive battery experience usually leaves nothing to discuss, and this is also the case with this one.
Performance
The Z Fold5 receives a special overclocked version of the most recent Snapdragon processor, the 8 Gen 2, from Samsung. This equates to very high game performance and significant energy efficiency advantages. Additionally, a bigger vapor chamber aids in improved heat dissipation and longer-lasting performance.All of this somewhat boring technical jargon means that everyone, with the exception of the die-hard mobile gamers, will have more than enough performance; if you fall into that category, check out our list of the top gaming phones (and then buy an Asus ROG Phone 7, because it's the best).On high settings, you may get a consistent 60 frames per second without the device overheating in games like Genshin Impact. In busy portions, frames may decrease to as low as 50, however this is not very common. The most noticeable problem after about an hour is the sporadic stuttering, which seems to be unique to Genshin since we encounter it on a variety of phones.Casual players shouldn't worry, as usual. However, I'm not sure if a casual gamer has ever been concerned about their phone—which costs over two grand—not being able to play Clash Royale. As you may have predicted, Candy Crush and Clash of Clans get through them rather smoothly, according to our conversation.Given the shape of the screen, Call of Duty and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds provide two distinct experiences. Your range of vision is still zoomed in even when your fingertips are just below the area of the screen you wish to focus on. They perform well at high settings, but instead of zooming in, it would be fantastic if the field of view was extended beyond that of a typical smartphone screen.Verdict