People who already have experience with folding smartphones or who have been considering making a transition from the flagship phone they use on a daily basis are the target audience for Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone.
There are a lot of improvements that have been made to the Fold 5 that make it a better phone to use, last longer, and get more done with than any other folding phone now available on the market. At first glance, the Fold 5 doesn't look that different from the one from the previous year.
Samsung galaxy z fold 5 Table
| Spec | Value |
|---|
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| RAM | 12GB |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| Front Camera | 4MP (Under-display) |
| Rear Camera | 50MP (Wide) + 12MP (Ultrawide) + 10MP (Telephoto) |
| Display | 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2176 x 1812) |
| Cover Display | 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X (2560 x 1080) |
| Connectivity | 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC |
| Weight | 255g |
| Operating System | Android 13 |
| Battery Life | Up to 24 hours |
Samsung galaxy z fold 5 review: Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 looks a lot like its predecessor, but there are still enough changes to tell them apart. Right away, you'll notice that the Fold 5 has a smaller new Flex hinge that lets it close completely flat. This was a problem with the Korean company's past foldable, which couldn't fold flat and let dust build up on the inside screen.
The Fold 5 is also easier to hold in your hand now that the hinge has been changed. It weighs 8.92oz and is 0.53 inches long when folded. It is also lighter and thinner. With new folding phones from Chinese companies that close completely flat, the Z Fold 5 needed a new hinge badly, and Samsung has given it to it. Even so, the Flex Hinge doesn't do much to fix the fold on the inner folded screen, which can still be seen.
As we said in our hands-on review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, the new opening is nice, but the Fold really needed it. Even though the Fold 5 is the smallest and lightest Fold that Samsung has made so far, it is a long way from the Honor Magic V2.
On the back, Samsung moved the LED flash away from the camera bump and put it in a new place. The cameras stick out further from their bodies and have silver rings that make them stand out even more. The last big change to the design is that the company got rid of the green color, which had been a mainstay in its Fold line for the past two years. Instead, you can choose from three new colors for the Z Fold 5: black, cream, and a new color called "Ice Blue," which looks pretty cool. The Samsung online shop is the only place to get Blue and Gray.
Samsung didn't change the size of the screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. So, the top screen is a 6.2-inch AMOLED panel with a 48-120Hz refresh rate and HD+ (2316x904) resolution. It has a tall aspect ratio of 23:9 and a small size. If you've been drooling over the Google Pixel Fold and thought that Samsung would make something similar, you're in for a letdown. Even though it's easy to compare the Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 5, they are very different in many important ways, including how they look and how big they are.
Samsung galaxy z fold 5 review: Hardware performance and battery life
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 now runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which gives it more speed. That's the upgraded version of the Qualcomm hardware, which has a faster clock speed and uses a little bit more power than other top devices on that platform. It has the same technology as the Galaxy S23 models, and here you can get up to 1TB of storage space with 12GB of RAM. This makes the phone more efficient while also making it more powerful. The 4400mAh battery is the same size as before, but because the hardware is more efficient, you may get more life out of it, based on what you do with it. One of the changes made to improve performance efficiency is a steam chamber that is 38% bigger. This means that the hardware can now cool itself better than before.
When I used the Z Fold 4 hard, like when using the hotspot and running heavy apps at the same time, the right side got a little warmer than other phones. But the Galaxy Z Fold 5's performance has only been good. It's smooth and fast, and I've found that it keeps running smoothly even when I have multiple apps open to take advantage of the bigger screen.
The battery life is also good, but it's not as big as the battery on a real flagship phone. There's a chance that the big screen in the middle will drain the battery, especially if you do something like play games at full light. A regular phone is better in this case. This also applies to the fees. Even though Samsung offers "fast charging," it doesn't come close to the charging speeds of many other brands. But I can't say anything bad about the show as a whole.
I've found that everything works really well, from making phone calls and using the hotspot for long periods to playing games and using the phone to run a lot of Chrome tabs at once. A lot of that has to do with how refined One UI is, which is a nod to Samsung's long history with Android devices. It might be heavily changed compared to something like the Pixel Fold, but I've always found the Samsung experience to be so much smoother than some of the other Android skins you might consider.
Should you buy it?
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a great choice if you're looking for a folding phone, especially in the US, where your options are still pretty limited. It does pretty much everything you'd want it to do, and even though there are plenty of things to criticize, most of them are done out of love. I like using this phone, and the few changes Samsung did make this year only made it better. And if you're coming from an older Galaxy S phone or another normal slab-shaped device, I think you'll love the Z Fold 5. Still, I would warn anyone who owns a Galaxy Z Fold 4 or maybe even a Galaxy Z Fold 3 not to pay cash for this one, trade-in or not.
I just don't think it's worth it, and I think you'd be better off putting your money away and waiting to see what Samsung has planned for next year. I do think that the company needs to do something big if it wants to get back to being the leader in foldables by 2024. The competition is only getting stronger, and I'm not just talking about new phones coming out in the U.S., like the Pixel Fold and the OnePlus folding that's coming out soon.
0 Comments