Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review

The $999.99 Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the smaller phone in Samsung's lineup of foldables, which also includes the $1,799.99 Galaxy Z Fold 5. Where the Z Fold 5 takes a normal-size phone and expands it into productivity-empowering tablet territory, the Z Flip 5 is about making a large screen smaller, more fun, and easier to stuff into your pocket. The Fold opens like a book and is intended for power users, while the Flip bends at the waist and is aimed at casual users who want a stylish, powerful handset that flips closed for maximum portability.

In its fifth generation, the Flip 5 makes only small improvements over the Z Flip 4, such as modest spec bumps and the ability to fold completely flat (like the $999.99 Motorola Razr+). The new hardware is as tough as it is beautiful with an IPX8 rating and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, plus Samsung says the new hinge is more durable than before. Most significantly, Samsung increased the size of the outer display to expand its usability. Samsung and Motorola take wildly different approaches to how the front screen is used, and that is what differentiates these phones the most. Depending on what you want in a modern-day flip phone, either the Z Flip 5 or the Razr+ can serve you quite well.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is stylish, elegant, and feels sturdy while being surprisingly light at just 6.6 ounces. That is about the same weight as the Motorola Razr+ at 6.5 to 6.7 ounces (depending on the version), and much less than the 8.9-ounce Galaxy Z Fold 5. The entirety of the Flip 5 is smooth, sometimes bordering on slippery, while the rear panel of the Razr+ has either a matte finish or vegan leather, both of which help with grip.

When closed, the Z Flip 5 measures 3.4 by 2.8 by 0.6 inches (HWD), which means it's taller but thinner than the Z Flip 4 (3.3 by 2.8 by 0.7 inches). The Fold 5, meanwhile, measures a much larger 6.1 by 2.6 by 0.5 inches. The gap between the halves of the Z Flip 4 create a slightly wedged shape, making it 0.63 inches at its thinnest point. The Flip 5 closes flat without a wedge, the biggest distinction in the new phone's impressively sleek and slender form.

Unfolded, the Flip 5 measures 6.5 by 2.3 by 0.3 inches. The 6.7-inch inner screen has a resolution of 2,640 by 1,080 pixels, a pixel density of 426ppi, and a 120Hz refresh rate, so there are no upgrades here compared with the Z Flip 4. The folding crease is still visible if you look for it, but it isn’t overly noticeable in most scenarios. It's most obvious when the screen is completely black. You are unlikely to notice the warped area of the screen when viewing images, video, and text—it's similar to using a traditional slab phone. A 10MP camera remains visible at the top of the screen, but it's not too intrusive.

Both screens are bright and have no trouble with visibility in direct sunlight. The inner screen produces a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, while the outer screen maxes out at 1,600 nits (more on the outer screen in the next section). In comparison, the Fold 5 has a massive 6.1-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display.

The Z Flip 5 retains the same IP rating as the Z Flip 4 at IPX8. That means it is fully water-resistant, but not officially dustproof. The front and back panels are covered in Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which should protect them from drops of up to 6.5 feet on surfaces like asphalt. The previous-generation Flip uses slightly less durable Gorilla Glass Victus+ panels.

A SIM slot is on the left side of the phone, while a volume rocker and a power button/fingerprint sensor are on the right. That combo button is slightly recessed, which makes it easier to place your finger on the sensor, but it is not perfect. When gripping the closed Z Flip 5, you can easily activate the sensor with accidental taps. Five failed attempts deactivate the sensor for 30 seconds, after which you have to type in your PIN or password to unlock the device instead. There is an option in the settings where you can require a press (not a touch) to activate the fingerprint sensor (Settings > Fingerprint Always On), which sidesteps this issue.

With Samsung's redesigned hinge, the two halves of the phone meet tightly—so tightly that it can sometimes require a bit of effort to open. The indent between the two halves of the Z Flip 5 is slight. Occasionally, I'd find my fingers slipping on the outer metal frame when trying to separate the two halves. In contrast, the Razr+ has a more rounded design to its edges that make it easier to open since you can get a better grip on each half. I would not recommend trying to open either with one hand unless you are particularly dexterous.

The new hinge makes the phone feel more compact and comfortable in the hand. The gapless design also means it is less likely that debris will get caught by the inner screen when carrying the phone in a bag or pocket. Samsung says the spring-assisted hinge is designed to hold its position within a range of 75 to 115 degrees. Anything lower or higher than that might trigger the hinge to automatically open or close the phone, but we found that it can be opened less than 75 degrees and still work; the phone shut on its own once the angle reached below 45 degrees. The new hinge is rated for 200,000 folds, just like the Z Flip 4.

Samsung made similar adjustments to the hinge of the Z Fold 5, which also closes without a wedge-shaped gap between the two halves.

When opened, the two halves of the metal band meet and provide a satisfying feel. Samsung says the standard angle when fully opened is approximately 178.5 to 181.5 degrees, meaning the Z Flip 5 may or may not be fully flat when opened, but that should be considered "normal." In real-world usage, when the Z Flip 5 is open it looks like a traditional candy bar phone from most angles, just like the Razr+, while the Fold 5 has more of a square, tablet-like shape.

The outer display on the Flip 5 (which Samsung refers to as the cover screen) is 3.4 inches across and has a resolution of 748 by 720 pixels, which represents a major upgrade from the Flip 4's 1.9-inch, 512-by-260-pixel display. It sports a satisfactory refresh rate of 60Hz, though I would have liked it to match the 120Hz rate of the Flip 5's inner screen.

Generally, when you close the Flip, Samsung assumes you want to be done with your phone so it also closes whatever app you're using. The cover typically shows the always-on display; you have to unlock the phone to interact with it again.

By default there are interactive widgets on the cover screen, but not apps. To get apps on the screen, you have to go to Settings > Advanced Features > Labs, then toggle on "Apps allowed on cover screen." Once toggled on, you can tap the text to select from a list of just six apps that will function in the cover screen apps widget.

These apps feature some (but not much) continuity between the screens. For example, if you open up a text string on the cover screen, then open the phone, you'll be placed right into that same thread. If you then go to another text string on the inner screen and then go to the outer screen, the phone closes the app and you'll have to relaunch the Messages app, but you'll be where you left off.

If you're watching a YouTube video on the outer screen, it'll continue on the inner screen. If you're watching from the inner screen, then close the phone, you'll have to relaunch YouTube from the cover screen (unless you have YouTube Premium, which will continue the video while the phone is locked). However, if you're just browsing a section on YouTube on the outer screen, that state seems to disappear when you open the phone—you'll still get YouTube, but you'll be given a fresh instance of the app.

Then there's Samsung's Good Lock, which will let you put any app in the Good Lock widget. Based on how many steps it takes to make this happen, this does not seem to be something Samsung wants everyone to do. You need to download Good Lock from the Galaxy App Store, tap the Life Up option on the bottom, install MultiStar, open MultiStar, tap I ♡ Galaxy Foldable, and choose Launcher Widget. From there, you can place any app in that widget. However, some apps may not work on the cover screen and you will get a message saying to open the phone instead. Reading apps like Kindle, Comixology, and Scribd worked well on the front screen, as did Chrome, Instagram, and X (fka Twitter). MultiStar also includes a game widget so you can access a library of 12 games that run pretty well on the small screen.

In stark comparison, Motorola's cover/inner screen software continuity on the Razr+ is the gold standard for this form factor. The amount of things you can accomplish on the front screen of the Razr+ makes using the inner screen seem like a luxury. It's a choice to open the Razr+, not a requirement.

The Z Fold 5, on the other hand, features a fully functional cover screen. It may have a tall aspect ratio, but the Fold 5's outer display is as powerful as any regular Android smartphone. Moreover, the continuity features of the Fold 5 dramatically outstrip those of the Flip 5. Many apps easily transition from the outer screen to the inner display and back again without interruption. Given how advanced the Fold 5's continuity features are, the Flip 5's limitations are all the more frustrating.

The base model of the Z Flip 5 offers 8GB of RAM along with 256GB of storage, but you can pay extra to double the latter. Both variants run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip, which first appeared in the Galaxy S23 line earlier this year. The Fold 5 has the same processor but increases the RAM to 12GB and includes a 1TB storage option.

The Flip 5 ships with Android 13 and should get four years of OS updates and five years of security patches. It runs Samsung's One UI 5.1, so it doesn't provide a stock Android experience like Google's Pixel devices, but it's pretty close.

In testing, apps loaded quickly, responsiveness was zippy, and there was no noticeable lag when running a large number apps at the same time. The Flip 5 earned a Geekbench 6 single-core score of 1,940 and a multi-core score of 4,895. For comparison, the Razr+, which runs on a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, scored 917 and 2,916 on the single- and multi-core tests. Note that Geekbench tests the CPU specifically.

On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which tests general mobile tasks, the Flip 5 pulled in a score of 14,377, which is very good, but falls below the Razr+'s 15,416. Gaming performance was solid, with Genshin Impact playing well on medium settings at 60fps. Using multiple characters on the screen at the same time was no problem for the Flip 5, although we saw occasional slowdowns when moving from one land to another. Pushing the settings to high led to a warning that said, "Current performance load is too high, which can lead to overheating and serious lagging." A sub-10-minute gaming session led the Flip 5 to get mildly warm to the touch, but not uncomfortably so. Playing the processor-friendly Alto's Odyssey was super smooth; there were no frame drops and the phone stayed nice and cool.

We expect the Fold 5 to offer similar performance, though the extra allotment of RAM could make a small difference in some use cases such as multitasking.

The Z Flip 5 houses a 3,700mAh battery, which retains the capacity and the 25W wired charging speed found in its predecessor. In our battery tests, in which we stream HD video at full brightness over Wi-Fi, Z Flip 5 lasted approximately 10 hours and 5 minutes, which falls well short of the Razr+'s 14 hours (with a 3,800mAh battery), but is improved over last year's model by about 40 minutes. There's no charging brick in the box, but if you have a powerful charger, the Flip 5 can go from 0 to 100% in 1 hour and 45 minutes. A quick 15-minute charge brought the phone up to 19% in testing. The Z Fold 5 has a larger 4,400mAh battery, but it is driving much larger displays and we have yet to fully assess its battery performance.

The Flip 5 offers support for Qi-based wireless charging at 15W and reverse wireless charging at 5W. I found that if the Z Flip 5 is closed on a level surface, a smooth device like the charging case of the Galaxy Buds Live can slowly slide off the charging coil and the phone itself due to the slight angle caused by the camera bumps. To avoid this, you have to open up the Z Flip 5 and place it face down or maybe find a case that will even out the phone when closed.

The handset includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 radios, both of which are slight upgrades over the older model. It also supports mmWave and sub-6 5G, including the coveted C-band spectrum, and it has both one nano SIM and eSIM. When connected to a Wi-Fi 6 access point in testing, peak download speeds on the Flip hit 492Mbps, with uploads topping out at 16.4Mbps (that slow upload speed is more a function of the ISP than the phone). For comparison, the Razr+ hit 459Mbps down and 20.4Mbps up when tested in the same spot. Taking the Flip 5 as far away as possible from the access point in my apartment, the speeds dropped to 39.5Mbps down and 8.91Mbps up, while the Razr+ reached 23.4Mbps down and 13.8Mbps up.

On T-Mobile's network in New York, the Flip 5 reached excellent speeds of 780Mbps down and 86.4Mbps up. For comparison, the Razr+ reached 721Mbps down and 62.2Mbps up when tested in the same spot. In other words, the Flip 5 is a fine 5G performer and we expect similar results from the Fold 5.

The phone plays stereo audio using a downward-firing speaker and the earpiece speaker together. When holding the device in landscape orientation, it is easy to accidentally cover up that down-facing speaker, but difficult to do the same with the earpiece unless that is your intent. The speakers do not get terribly loud, but the audio is clear at any volume. When testing the speakers with the track "Silent Shout" by The Knife, we found that there was not a lot of bass. Switching to Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the speakers reached a maximum volume of 94.8dB. Highs are clear with no distortion even when the volume is maxed out. A little quirk of the design is that if you are blasting audio on the Z Flip 5, you can feel the vibrations through the cover screen. If you really want to enjoy audio from the Z Flip 5, we suggest using Bluetooth headphones.

Call quality was quite good in testing, with the earpiece speaker topping out at 85.9dB so it was easy to hear the caller even when in louder rooms. The downward-facing speakerphone's maximum output was 72.8dB during calls, which is still plenty loud.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with a total of three cameras. The external display houses a camera setup consisting of a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with a 123-degree field of view and a 12MP wide-angle shooter with optical image stabilization and a narrower field of view. These are the same cameras that are on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4. The rear cameras can capture video up to 4K resolution at 60fps. The inner screen's camera has a 10MP sensor and can capture video up to 4K resolution at 30fps. The Fold 5 also carries over its cameras, though its main shooter has a 50MP sensor and it adds a 10MP telephoto camera to the mix.

Using the rear cameras, outdoor photos on a sunny day looked good, with details like leaves remaining sharp in testing. However, colors were a bit oversaturated by default (as is typical for Samsung cameras), resulting in a sometimes unnatural glow. Images taken with the Razr+'s 12MP main camera and 13MP ultrawide camera were more true to life in color. Samsung's ultrawide camera has a larger field of view at 123 degrees compared with the Razr+'s 108 degrees, so you can get more of the world in the photos taken by the Z Flip 5. It handled dark and light areas quite well, preserving detail in both. Generally, the cameras on the Moto Razr+ and Z Flip 5 produced similar shots (apart from saturation).

The inner camera produced images with great details and more natural color than the rear shooters. Images shot in portrait mode resulted in a more realistic blur around the subject when compared with pics taken by the other cameras.

Portrait mode was a bit more aggressive with the background blur when using the main rear camera, but portrait images can be adjusted in the Gallery app after you take the pictures.

Samsung touts the Z Flip 5 as a creator-friendly phone, so we took a look at its video quality. Recording 4K60 video while walking at a normal pace resulted in a bit of bounce in the video. Lowering the frame rate to 30fps led to more stabilized footage. At 1080p/60fps, the bounce was reduced further. Color reproduction seemed more natural in videos compared with stills. The mics picked up audio well. Also, since the Z Flip 5 can show the camera's viewpoint on the cover screen, we found that people seem to smile bigger and become more energetic when they could see themselves ahead of each shot.

In a very dark room, low-light photography was quite good at 1x. Colors could be seen in the photo tests. However, images taken at 0.5x in low light were basically black, where nothing could be seen at all.

The Z Flip 5 does well against its main competitor, but any of the standard Galaxy S23 models or Pixel 7 phones take better pictures across the board.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is an excellent phone for people looking to carry a 6.7-inch handset that takes up as little space as possible, as well as anyone simply looking for something fun and different. The Flip 5's hardware is refined and beautiful, and the two screens are outstanding in quality, though Motorola offers far more functionality on the outer screen with the Razr+. On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a more rugged build and a faster processor, potentially making it a better choice for anyone who likes to hold onto their phone for at least a couple of years. Ultimately, either of these foldables are easy to recommend alongside more traditional favorites of ours like the $999.99 Galaxy S23+ or the $899 Google Pixel 7 Pro. And while we're still in the process of testing it, the larger and more expensive Z Fold 5 looks to be your best bet if you want a phone that balances the power of a high-end flagship with the productivity prowess of a tablet.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is an excellent Android phone with a big screen that easily fits in your pocket thanks to its folding form factor.

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