❤ Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
What do you improve on a phone that’s already the default option in its class and competition is either very region-limited or, if widely available, just not popular enough to be a serious threat? Well, not a lot, Samsung says with its Galaxy Z Flip5.
The latest-gen foldables from the Korean company tread carefully, but the Flip does still feel like the more meaningful generational step up. That’s mostly due to the fact that the clamshell is treated to a much-needed cover screen upgrade, the new larger unit greatly improving usefulness (with some caveats). The other major development is in the hinge design, so the Flip5 finally folds flat, as opposed to forming an edge. And that’s mostly it.
Sure, the Flip5 comes with a new chipset – the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 goes without saying. The base storage has been doubled to 256GB, which is also a most welcome change. Minor tweaks can be spotted in the camera system, but it remains essentially the same. Similarly, the internal display may have gotten a brightness boost, but that too is hardly a groundbreaking update.
But perhaps expectations for disruptive changes are unrealistic, and the Z Flip5 brings just the right amount of differences and improvements to make it a worthy successor. That’s what we’ll be trying to find out on the following pages.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 specs at a glance:
| NETWORK | Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G |
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | |
| CDMA 800 / 1900 | ||
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | |
| HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 | ||
| CDMA2000 1xEV-DO | ||
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 – International | |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41, 48, 66, 71 – USA | ||
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66, 71 – Canada | ||
| 5G bands | 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 28, 38, 40, 41, 66, 77, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 – International | |
| 2, 5, 48, 66, 77, 78, 257, 260, 261 SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave – USA (Verizon) | ||
| 2, 5, 38, 41, 66, 71, 78 SA/NSA/Sub6 – Canada | ||
| Speed | HSPA, LTE-A (CA), 5G |
| LAUNCH | Announced | 2023, July 26 |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Available. Released 2023, August 11 |
| BODY | Dimensions | Unfolded: 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm Folded: 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1 mm |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 187 g (6.60 oz) | |
| Build | Plastic front (opened), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame | |
| SIM | Nano-SIM and eSIM | |
| IPX8 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Armor aluminum frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance (advertised) |
| DISPLAY | Type | Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1750 nits (peak) |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 6.7 inches, 102.0 cm2 (~85.9% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2640 pixels (~425 ppi density) | |
| Cover display: Super AMOLED, 3.4 inches, 720 x 748 pixels (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), 306 ppi |
| PLATFORM | OS | Android 13, One UI 5.1.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Chipset | Qualcomm SM8550-AC Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm) | |
| CPU | Octa-core (1×3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2×2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3×2.0 GHz Cortex-A510) | |
| GPU | Adreno 740 |
| MEMORY | Card slot | No |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 256GB 8GB RAM, 512GB 8GB RAM | |
| UFS 4.0 |
| MAIN CAMERA | Dual | 12 MP, f/1.8, 24mm (wide), 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1.12µm |
|---|---|---|
| Features | LED flash, HDR, panorama | |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+ |
| SELFIE CAMERA | Single | 10 MP, f/2.2, 23mm (wide), 1.22µm |
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | |
| Video | 4K@30fps |
| SOUND | Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | No | |
| 32-bit/384kHz audio |
| COMMS | WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE | |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| Radio | No | |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.2, OTG |
| FEATURES | Sensors | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) |
| BATTERY | Type | Li-Po 3700 mAh, non-removable |
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 25W wired, 50% in 30 min (advertised) 15W wireless 4.5W reverse wireless |
| MISC | Colors | Mint, Graphite, Cream, Lavender, Gray, Blue, Green, Yellow |
|---|---|---|
| Models | SM-F731B, SM-F731B/DS, SM-F731U, SM-F731U1, SM-F731W, SM-F731N | |
| SAR | 1.17 W/kg (head) | |
| SAR EU | 0.60 W/kg (head) 1.45 W/kg (body) | |
| Price | $ 799.99 / € 834.49 / £ 909.86 / ₹ 89,500 |
| TESTS | Performance | AnTuTu: 1200783 (v9), 1507319 (v10) GeekBench: 5478 (v5.5), 4984 (v6.0) GFXBench: 91fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) |
|---|---|---|
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) | |
| Camera | Photo / Video | |
| Loudspeaker | -27.1 LUFS (Good) | |
| Battery life |
Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 unboxing
The Z Flip5’s retail package packs no surprises. The half-height black box features a small stylized likeness of the handset, color-matched to the actual unit inside.
The list of accessories included is predictably short, too. After the removal of the charger from the box with the S21 generation, Galaxies typically ship with just a USB-C cable and nothing else. Well, that, and a SIM eject pin, of course. But let’s shift our focus where it belongs – on to the handset.
Competition
We kicked this review off, stating that the Galaxy Z Flip5 has no real competition, but that’s only sort of true. While it is, indeed, the go-to option if you’re out for a clamshell foldable, the breed does offer alternatives. And depending on what got you zeroing in on the small bendy Samsung in the first place, you might find what you’re looking for in a conventional bar phone.
The Z Flip5 technically starts at $1000/€1200, but still-ongoing pre-order discounts, bundles, and promotions can sweeten the deal. Indeed, when you consider that a Z Flip4 now goes for a little over half that, it’s hard to swallow paying the full MSRP for a Z Flip5. Admittedly, the new cover display is a lot more useful, the gapless design looks nicer, the extra battery life is appreciated, and the cameras are a tiny bit better if still the same. But the last generation is about as cool and is almost as good in most respects. Perhaps the Flip4 could still build a case for itself, with price at the foundation.
Old one vs. New one
The Razr 40 Ultra (or Razr+ 2023 in North America), on the other hand, won’t be saving you any cash. It does have some pros over the Galaxy, though – for example, larger, higher-refresh rate displays in and out, plus the fact that the cover one is fancier-looking and the internal one has a smoother crease. The Razr arguably has a better software implementation for the outer display too, if you want to run real apps there. The Ultra’s ultrawide is more versatile thanks to its autofocusing capability, but that’s about all the camera advantages the Moto has – we’d pick the Galaxy for cameraphone use. The Galaxy’s IPX8 water resistance is also a solid argument in its favor, as is the beefier chipset and, believe it or not, the faster charging.
That just about exhausts the list of globally available high-end clamshell foldables, but there are a couple of other options from China that you could entertain getting – conveniently, each of them called Flip.
The vivo X Flip has unmatched battery life in the class, and is quite likely the best camera system on a small-size foldable. Those two points might make it worthwhile to go through the hoops needed for importing one from China, though unforeseeable issues in long-term use may end up ruining the experience. The Find N2 Flip sounds less enticing. White it does snatch a victory in battery life, the Find’s camera isn’t as capable as the Galaxy’s, and we reckon it’s not worth the trouble.
Which then brings us to the plain old flat non-bendable phones – if you’re after a Z Flip5, maybe you just don’t like to stuff large handsets in your pockets, and a foldable is only one of the ways to avoid that. Another road to that destination is the Galaxy S23 – Samsung’s smallest-size conventional high-end phone. You’ll get everything that’s good about the Flip, plus a slightly better zoom camera, a bit longer battery life, and DeX. And money in the bank too – the S23 starts at around €650, but you can splurge and get the 256GB version for €100 more, and be far from the Flip5’s price tag.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 • Motorola Razr 40 Ultra • vivo X Flip • Oppo Find N2 Flip • Samsung Galaxy S23
Verdict
Samsung may not be having the leading market share in the Chinese foldable scene, but we can’t imagine the bendy Galaxies are anything close to being threatened elsewhere. In that sense, Samsung didn’t have to bring dramatic improvements to this year’s lineup, so they didn’t.
That said, the Z Flip5, in particular, comes with two meaningful and significant upgrades. The gapless folding design is finally here, so the handset no longer looks like a prototype – it’s sexier this way but also simply more compact. The other thing is the cover display – the new one is large enough to actually be useful for a change.
Alongside those two major developments, we’re getting a handful of small ones that add up. The new chipset deserves a mention even if it was a given, but it’s also at least partially responsible for the improved battery life compared to the previous generation – it has to be, since battery capacity has remained the same. Similarly, the camera hardware is unchanged, yet the 5 takes better pictures than the 4.
The Galaxy Flips have been steadily evolving, and with the Z Flip5, Samsung is approaching that point where it would need to do something big soon. For this year, however, we think a cover display and hinge will do. We’d be happy recommending the Galaxy Z Flip5 – just be sure to either grab one of the early promos or wait a couple of months for the inevitable price drops.
Pros
- Finally – gapless design.
- IPX8-rated for water resistance.
- Large and useful cover display with potential for further software tweaks.
- Outstanding foldable display – bright, color-accurate, 120Hz, HDR.
- Great all-around camera experience and quality.
- The latest and greatest Snapdragon chipset.
- Improved battery life.
Cons
- Heavily throttles under 100% CPU/GPU load.
- No charger in the box.
- Running full apps on the cover display requires going through hoops.
- No DeX support.
