The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 marks a significant advancement in the Flip series, boasting a substantially larger Flex Screen. This expanded screen allows you to efficiently manage numerous daily tasks without the need to unfold the phone.
However, this groundbreaking innovation wasn’t an overnight development. After enjoying unchallenged dominance in the foldable phone arena for years, Samsung faced some competition. The recently introduced Motorola Razr Plus emerged as a game-changer, stealing the spotlight from Samsung by being the first to feature a fully immersive all-screen front.
So getting to the point, let’s see what the reputed Z flip 5 which costs Rs. 1,40,000 here in Nepal brings to our table. On our take, here is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Full Review.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Full Review:
Design and Build
- Body:
- Built: Plastic front (opened), glass back/front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), aluminum frame
- Water Resistance: IPX8 water resistant
Each new Galaxy Z Flip smartphone has been more attractive than the last, and the Z Flip 5 is the most stunning yet. One of the reasons for this is the all-black front when the cover display is turned off. Samsung has put a lot of effort into the design, and even though you might not notice all the changes, there are quite a few design improvements on the new Flip.
The most significant upgrade is the new hinge. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 folds without leaving any gap. Sometimes, it may appear as if there’s a tiny gap due to the black bezels around the folding display, but that’s just an optical illusion. When the phone is folded, nothing can get inside it, at least based on our experience, which means it’s well-protected against dust and dirt.
Even better, the new hinge doesn’t force you to compromise on important features like IPX8 water resistance or the ability of the foldable display to stay open at different angles.
The new design without any gaps also makes the phone slightly thinner, although the difference is not very noticeable. Unfortunately, the rumors that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 would have dust resistance did not turn out to be true. Samsung is actively working on adding dust resistance to their foldable phones, and they are likely to achieve this sooner than expected. However, for now, it’s important to avoid exposing the phone to dust if you want to ensure its durability.
Another concern I have is the potential for damage to the cover screen when you’re using the main display. When you use the phone with one hand, your fingers that are supporting the phone may come into contact with the cover display. If you have long nails, there’s a risk of accidentally scratching it, and your fingers can also leave smudges on the screen. This may seem like a minor issue, but I believe it’s worth mentioning because it can affect the overall experience with the device.
Cover Display
- Cover Screen:
- Size: 3.4 inches
- Type: Super AMOLED, (peak)
- Resolution: 720 x 748 pixels
- Protection: Gorilla Glass Victus 2
The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s marketing campaign heavily emphasizes its cover display, so let’s dive into it first. The cover display measures 3.4 inches and boasts a 60Hz refresh rate, with a screen resolution of 720 x 748 pixels. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 and can reach a peak brightness of 1600 nits.
One distinctive feature of this cover display is its unique shape. Unlike the standard rectangular screens, the cover display has a foldable form. This distinctive shape isn’t just for aesthetics; it serves a practical purpose. The extended part of the screen houses the back and home buttons, which you use to navigate within apps on the cover screen. This design choice ensures that the app’s user interface remains unobstructed and fully accessible, making for a more seamless user experience.
Certainly, if you haven’t heard yet, the Z Flip 5’s small outer screen can actually run complete apps. However, by default, it only supports a limited selection. Right out of the box, you can use Google Maps, Google or Samsung Messages, Netflix, WhatsApp, and YouTube on the cover screen.
There are also multiple “informative presets” that show you the time, date, battery, and weather info, along with a customizable app shortcut (set to the camera by default). Last but not least, the cover screen offers you a number of preset responses when you want to quickly reply to a message from the cover screen. You can add your own custom responses, too.
Main Inner Display
- Inner Display
- Size: 6.7 inches
- Type: Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, HDR10+, 1200 nits (peak)
- Resolution: 1080 x 2640 pixels (FHD+)
- Refresh Rate: 120Hz
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 5
The primary screen, the one you fold and unfold frequently to use the Z Flip 5 as a regular phone, hasn’t seen many significant improvements. It’s still a 6.7-inch display that can refresh at a rate of 120 times per second, known as a 120Hz Super AMOLED panel. The screen has a resolution of 2640 x 1080 pixels and now boasts a peak brightness of 1750 nits.
The noticeable change here is the increased brightness, which you can easily see when using the phone, whether you’re indoors or in brightly lit outdoor settings. The Z Flip 5 also continues to offer all the typical advantages of AMOLED displays, including wide viewing angles, deep black levels, and vibrant, vivid colors.
The Z Flip 5’s folding screen is super smooth with its 120Hz refresh rate, just like the Z Flip 4. It’s smart too—the refresh rate goes up to 120Hz only when you touch it. When you’re not touching it, in most apps, it can drop as low as 24. For video apps, it switches between 24Hz and 30Hz, the camera app sets it at 60Hz, and the lock screen runs at 96Hz.
The inner display of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a more glass-like feel, even though it uses the same ultra-thin glass as the Z Flip 3 and Z Flip 4. It’s not clear how Samsung achieved this, but we appreciate it.
However, this glass-like feel might make you think it’s sturdier than it actually is. Foldable displays, including the one on the Z Flip 5, are still not meant for rough handling. While the new gapless design offers better protection when it’s in your pocket, you should still handle it with care during use to prevent damage.
Regarding the display crease, there are no changes. It’s generally not noticeable unless light reflects off it at a certain angle (you can see it in the photo below). However, you’ll feel it when scrolling because the Z Flip folds vertically, so the crease runs across the screen from side to side. Some people will adapt to it over time, but for others, it might be a persistent annoyance.
Performance and Storage
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- CPU: Octa-core with 3.2Ghz Max clock speed
- GPU: Adreno 740
- Memory
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 256GB
Let’s talk about how the Z Flip 5 performs. It’s equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip, which made its debut in the Galaxy S23 series. This chip is quite impressive, so it’s no surprise that the Z Flip 5 runs really well. It’s a very fast phone that rarely slows down. Occasionally, you might notice some small hiccups in its performance, but they’re not common enough to be a bother.
On the Geekbench 6 Benchmark run, the Samsung Galaxy Z flip 5 has scored 1567 on single-Core and 4522 on Multiple-Core score. On the GPU benchmark, it scores 6621 GPU OpenCL Score.
However, there’s a catch because of its compact design. The Z Flip 5 isn’t as good at getting rid of heat, so it can get a bit warm around the edges when you’re playing games or recording long videos. In fact, Samsung has officially stated that the Z Flip 5 doesn’t have the same heat-dissipation capabilities as some of their other high-end phones, which is why it doesn’t support Samsung DeX.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a fixed 8GB of RAM, regardless of the specific model you choose. It does have a feature called RAM Plus, which can use up to 8GB of the phone’s internal storage as virtual RAM (you can get that storage back if needed). However, you might notice that some apps tend to close in the background relatively quickly. This could be because Samsung has set the phone to aggressively close apps running in the background, possibly to help conserve the battery. But that’s just our best guess, as Samsung hasn’t officially confirmed this approach.
OS and UI
- OS: Android 13
- UI: One UI 5.1
Most of the stuff on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is pretty much what you’d find on any regular Galaxy phone that doesn’t fold. The software, called One UI 5.1.1, is new for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, but it doesn’t come with any big new features. It seems Samsung might be saving those for the next version, One UI 6.0. So, the software experience is quite similar to last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 4.
Just like the Flip 4, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will receive updates for the Android operating system for four generations and continue getting security updates for five years. This means you can expect your phone to stay up-to-date and secure for a good amount of time.
The way the software works on Galaxy Z Flip phones is quite similar to Samsung’s regular phones, and this holds true for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as well. However, there’s one major feature that makes use of the folding design, and Samsung calls it the “Flex Mode panel.”
Here’s how it works: When you open the phone halfway, certain apps will appear on the upper half of the screen, while the lower half becomes like a touchpad that you can use to interact with those apps. This unique feature takes advantage of the foldable nature of the phone to offer a different way of using apps when the device is partially unfolded.
Camera
- Rear Camera
- Primary: 12 MP, f/1.8, OIS
- Ultrawide: 12 MP, f/2.2, FOV 123˚
- Front Camera: 10 MP, f/2.2
- Video
- Rear: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@60/240fps, 720p@960fps,
- Front: 4K@30fps
In terms of how good the photos look in general when you take pictures outdoors during the day using the 12MP main camera, you get pictures with excellent detail and a wide range of colors. Although there isn’t a dedicated zoom camera, you can still capture pretty good pictures when you use the 2x zoom on the main camera, especially when the lighting is good. The ultra-wide camera doesn’t perform as well, particularly in situations where there are dark areas in the scene, but overall, the pictures taken during the day look nice.
However, there’s room for improvement when it comes to taking photos in low-light conditions and at night. While the main camera can capture enough detail, it often introduces some graininess or noise in the pictures, even when there are plenty of artificial lights around. This issue also applies to the ultra-wide camera.
you can take portrait photos with a nice blurred background, and it looks good when there’s plenty of light. You can see some of these portrait pictures in the gallery below for you to enjoy.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5, just like all of Samsung’s foldable phones, is particularly impressive when it comes to taking selfies. You can take selfies using the main cameras by using the smaller outer screen as a preview. With the Z Flip 5’s larger outer screen, you can easily ignore the 10MP front camera and use the more powerful rear cameras for all your selfie needs. This works exceptionally well, especially when you’re in dimly lit places, and it gives you fantastic results.
The Z Flip 5 comes with the typical shooting options you’d find on Samsung’s top-tier phones. There’s the Pro mode and Pro Video mode, which allow you to adjust settings like shutter speed before taking photos. Single Take is a handy feature that gives you multiple results with just one tap of the shutter button. Director’s View lets you record videos using all the phone’s cameras simultaneously. Additionally, you have the usual modes like Food, Panorama, Slow Motion, and Super Slow-Mo, and these modes do precisely what their names imply.
Battery
- Battery: 3700 mAh
- Charging: 25W wired, 15 Wireless charging, 4.5 reverse Wireless charging
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has the same battery size as the last two Z Flip models. However, it’s able to last significantly longer, mainly because of the efficiency of the latest Snapdragon chipset it uses.
In the past, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Flip 4 struggled to give you four hours of screen-on time. But with the Z Flip 5, you can expect up to six hours of screen-on time, and it can stay off the charger for up to 20 hours in total. The idle battery drain has been notably reduced, which means you can even enable the Always On Display feature that was best left turned off on previous Z Flip models.
However, it’s important to note that the battery life of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 can vary widely depending on how you use it. With light usage, it can sometimes last more than a day. But if you use features like 5G data, navigation, and photography for extended periods, the battery life can drop significantly.
Charging times also differ. Using Samsung’s 25W charger, you can get up to 50% charge in just 30 minutes. However, a full charge takes nearly 90 minutes. If you’re using a 15W charger, it’s advisable to charge the phone overnight for a full charge.
Other Features (Security, Audio, Connectivity)
- Audio: stereo speakers,
- Security: Fingerprint (side-mounted)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6e, tri-band, Bluetooth 5.3
The Z Flip 5 comes with stereo speakers, which means there are two speakers for better sound. One is located at the bottom, and the other is the earpiece at the top of the phone. This setup is found in most of Samsung’s top phones, except for the Galaxy Z Fold series. In terms of sound quality, it’s quite similar.
One noticeable difference with the Z Flip 5’s speakers is that they don’t produce as much bass, but other than that, they work well. They can get quite loud without any distortion, even when you turn up the volume all the way. These speakers are more than good enough for enjoying videos and music without needing to use headphones or Bluetooth speakers.
The Z Flip 5 has really good network reception and call quality, which is what we would expect from a phone like this. Also, as we mentioned earlier in this review, it can connect to Wi-Fi 6E networks, which is a plus for faster internet.
But there’s one thing to note: the Z Flip 5 only has a single slot for a SIM card. If you want to use two SIM cards, you’ll need to have an eSIM for the second one. This means you can have two different phone numbers on the same phone, but you’ll need to set up the second one differently.
Pros and Cons
The Z Flip 5 isn’t flawless, but it’s the finest device in this series so far. It’s a great option for those who want to switch from a regular flat phone to a foldable one. It’s also a worthwhile upgrade for people who already have the original Galaxy Z Flip or the Galaxy Z Flip 3. The only group who might want to hold off are Galaxy Z Flip 4 owners unless they can find a really good trade-in offer.
| Pros | Cons |
| The enlarged Flex Screen is an improvement over its previous iteration. | The phone heats up faster. |
| First Flip phone featuring Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. | No DEX support. |
| Strongly constructed, minimal hinge wobble. | Battery longevity and charging speeds are merely moderate. |
| Camera quality is better than Z Flip 4 and its other competitors. | The inclusion of dust protection would be appreciated. |
| Smoother UI and good software experience. | A little costly. |
| Camera quality is better than Z Flip 4 and its other competitors. | |
| Gorilla glass Victus 2 protection for the cover screen. | |
| Four years of software and security updates. |
Verdict
For the first time, it seems like Samsung is trying to catch up with other foldable phones in the market.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has caught up to its new competitor, the Motorola Razr Plus, by featuring a larger cover screen. However, Samsung hasn’t made the most of this Flex Screen, and in fact, we can find the slightly bigger screen on the Razr Plus more convenient for various tasks and typing when using the outer display.
On the positive side, the Flip 5 has better waterproofing, and it feels more robust and well-built, which is crucial for foldable phones known for their fragility compared to other devices. Additionally, the new Flip boasts the fastest chip available and finally provides users with 256GB of onboard storage. Moreover, if camera quality matters to you, the Galaxy Flip offers a significantly better camera.
In summary, the Flip 5 is a safer choice in several aspects, making it likely to remain a top seller among flip phones. However, it’s important to note that it’s no longer the only contender in this space, and Samsung will need to make further improvements to maintain its leading position.
so, what’s your take on our Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 full review?
