Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: It’s Flipping Fun

If you’re in the market for a new-age foldable cell phone, chances are you’re going to go with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 ($1,000+). It’s far more affordable (and pocketable) than Samsung’s more productive-focused foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 ($1,800+). Plus, Samsung has been making foldables for longer and has a much more refined ecosystem of accessories (such as smartwatches and earbuds) than competitors like Google or Motorola.

Products in the Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (256GB)

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The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a fourth-generation foldable. Despite the “5” in the name, Samsung has released four different models since early 2020 — it skipped the Galaxy Z Flip “2” and went straight to the Galaxy Z Flip 3, because reasons — subtly improving the hardware and software along the way. And as of this summer, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is Samsung’s most polished clamshell-style foldable to date.

At first glance, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 looks quite similar to its predecessors — but it’s actually the biggest update of its Flip line to date. It has a much bigger cover display, a new hinge, a flagship-worthy processor, double the base storage — and a bunch of other flagship-grade features.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: What We Think

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After using the Galaxy Z Flip 5 for the last few weeks, my overriding feeling is — damn, it’s fun. I love the fact that it doesn’t feel like every other smartphone when you hold it. I love that when you put it in your pocket it doesn’t feel like some massive object. I love that the cover screen is actually useful; sure it’s limited, but being able to clear notifications, answer texts, check the weather or even take a high-quality selfie — that’s fun. And when you open it, it feels … like one of Samsung’s regular Galaxy smartphones.

Of course, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 isn’t cheap. At $1,000 to start, it costs more than most flagship smartphones — the only ones more expensive are the big-screen models — so you’re paying extra for the flipping form factor. Obviously, it’s still an Android smartphone and thus probably won’t convert over the blue bubble masses. But the more I use the Galaxy Z Flip 5, the more I think: wouldn’t it be cool if Apple made a flipping iPhone?

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (256GB)

• $999.99 at Samsung

Pocketable smartphones are increasingly rare

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Admittedly, I’m a sucker for a small smartphone. I can’t stand the fact that smartphones are getting bigger and bigger, as it makes them, well, tough to live with: tough to fit in your pocket, tough to hold in your hand (especially if you have small hands). Personally, I’d rather have a pocketable smartphone with a good camera than a huge smartphone with a great camera. And the Galaxy Z Flip 5 can get really small; it’s easily the most pocketable smartphone I’ve used in a while.

When folded, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is roughly half the size of your average flagship smartphone. Sure, it’s a little thicker, but it slips in the pocket super-easily. And even when you’re wielding it one-handed, it feels comfortable and natural to hold.

The small front screen is refreshingly useful

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Pictured: the larger cover screen allows for a larger keyboard (left). You can even watch YouTube or Netflix on small screen.

The biggest upgrade with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is with its cover screen — which Samsung calls the “Flex Window” — which now takes up almost the entire front of the phone when folded. It’s 3.78 times bigger than the cover screen on last year’s Flip 4, which allows you to do and see more without opening up the phone.

On the cover screen, you can scroll through widgets such as Weather, Timers and Calendar. You can quickly swipe up and access the camera to take a selfie using the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s main camera system. You can answer messages, although the keyboard is pretty small. And you can even watch Netflix or YouTube, although I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just flip open the phone at that point.

The big screen is still where it’s at

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Pictured: The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 6.7-inch display when flipped open, which you’ll use the majority of the time.

Compared to its predecessors, the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s cover screen is a lot more useful … but you’re still going to want to flip it open and use it as a traditional smartphone for most things. When opened, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 effectively doubles its screen real estate: It has a 6.7-inch display (compared to the 3.4-inch cover screen) with a 120Hz refresh rate. And it runs fast and smooth thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor — which is the same chip found in Samsung’s higher-end smartphones, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and flagship Galaxy S23.

The crease is still very apparent

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There’s no getting around the fact that you can still see the hinge’s crease when you have the phone open. You can feel it, too — there’s a little indentation that you notice every time you move your finger over it. It’s not ideal, but it’s not a dealbreaker. No foldable out there has been able to fully solve this problem — and, honestly, they probably won’t in the near future. It just comes with the territory of a foldable phone, I guess.

It’s fun to open (but more fun to close)

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The other big upgrade with the Galaxy Z Flip 5: the hinge. Samsung has redesigned it so that when folded, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 closes completely flush on itself. There’s no gap like with previous models where dust or other debris can creep in. It’s taken Samsung a number of tries to get there, but thankfully, we’re here.

For me, closing the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a two-handed effort. Due to the strength of the hinge and the fact that the smartphone now closes completely flat, it’s not super easy — nor does it feel natural — to get it with one hand. One great thing to come of this however, is that whenever you close the Galaxy Z Flip 5 it makes an audible and super satisfying snap-ing sound. If you’re a fidgeter, you’ll probably love this.

The camera is better than you think

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Pictured: When closed, you can take selfies with rear-camera system (right).

The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s camera system is near-flagship-worthy. It obviously lacks the triple camera system you see on most high-end smartphones, but its dual camera setup consists of a 12-megapixel wide (main) and an ultra-wide lens are a pretty good combo; these are the same two cameras that are on Samsung’s more expensive Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Since it doesn’t have the telephoto camera, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn’t have the same zoom power as those higher-end smartphones. But this honestly isn’t a big deal for me. I don’t really use zoom when shooting smartphone photos. The vast majority of photos are of my dog or my food or my friends, and this Samsung does a fine job at capturing that.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Alternatives

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Samsung has been the predominant player in the foldable smartphone market for the last number of years, but Motorola and Google have offerings as well. The Motorola Razr Plus (2023) is probably the best clamshell alternative to the Galaxy Z Flip 5, as it’s slightly more affordable but lacks as many flagship-quality features; plus Samsung has a much larger ecosystem of accessories that work with its smartphones.

Products in the Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (256GB)

  Read more

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