Samsung recently released its latest 5th generation foldable smartphones, including the new Galaxy Z Flip5 and the Galaxy Z Fold5. We got a chance to try out the new Galaxy Z Fold5, featuring a thinner and lighter construction, upgraded specs, and more. Here are our thoughts about the new foldable device.
Design
It’s another year and another high-end Z foldable from Samsung. The new Galaxy Z Fold5 shares a similar design as its predecessor model. The 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X cover display and its 904 x 2316 pixels screen resolution are the same as before, along with the cover display which also features the same 23.1:9 aspect ratio.
The main 7.6-inch Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel is also the same, along with its 1812 x 2176 pixels as the screen resolution. Both the cover display and the main foldable panel feature a 120Hz refresh rate for a smooth UI experience.
The SIM card slot is located on the left side of the main foldable display, along with the volume rockers and the fingerprint scanner on the right side. There are speaker grills on the top and bottom sides on the left half of the main foldable display, along with the USB-C port on the bottom of the right-sided foldable display.
When compared side-by-side with the older Galaxy Z Fold4, the gap between the main foldable display in its folded state is considerably reduced. The chassis of the Fold5 is also noticeably thinner at 13.4mm when in its folded state, and 6.1mm in its unfolded state. On the contrary, the Galaxy Z Fold4 is 14.2-15.8 mm thick in its folded state, and 6.3m in its unfolded state. The Fold5 is also 10g lighter than its predecessor, and the device weighs 253g.
While the rear side is similar to the previous model, I noticed that the flash module is now located outside the camera island. Thanks to this change, the camera island’s length is now reduced. Additionally, the Z Fold5 also comes with IPX8 water-resistant certification that ensures the device can handle depths up to 1.5m underwater for half an hour.
And then there is the Armor aluminum frame which provides tougher drop and scratch resistance for the device. While the new device features an improved chassis, I was a bit disappointed that Samsung was not able to include a dedicated S-Pen slot, something that many have been hoping to have on a Samsung foldable.
Performance
While the Z Fold5 smartphone may look the same as the previous model, the new device comes with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which offers a significant boost in terms of performance. The 8-core SoC features one 3.36 GHz Cortex X3 core, two 2.8 GHz Cortex A715 cores, two 2.8 GHz Cortex A710 cores, and three 2 GHz Cortex A510 cores.
Consumers will be able to buy the Z Fold5 in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage configurations, and the main storage is based on the UFS 4.0 flash memory. All of these devices come with 12GB RAM. The smartphone also runs on the latest Android 13 OS with One UI 5.1.1 as its interface. The integrated Adreno 740 GPU can easily handle demanding Android games without any issues. The Z Fold5 ran smoothly all the time while we used the device for different applications and games. I also tested the Z Fold5 with several benchmarks, such as Geekbench 6, Antutu v10, and 3DMark Wildlife/Slingshot/Solar Bay tests. Check out the scores below.
Other features of the Z Fold5 include AKG-tuned speakers, WiFi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. When it comes to battery life, I was a bit disappointed to see that Samsung did not increase the capacity. The Z Fold5 comes with a 4400 mAh battery, along with support for 25W wired fast charge, 15W for wireless charging, and a modest 4.5W for reverse wireless charging for compatible devices. I ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery test on both the folded and unfolded state of the Z Fold5. When testing the device in its folded state, the Z Fold 5 lasted from 100% to 20% battery life for 13 hours straight. In its unfolded state, the Z Fold5 lasted from 100% to 20% battery life, for 9 hours and 38 minutes of runtime.
Camera
As for optics, the Fold5 features a 50MP sensor as the main shooter, with F/1.8 as its aperture and support for optical image stabilization. The second camera comes with a 10MP sensor with F/2.4 aperture for telephoto shots, along with support for OIS. The third camera packs a 12MP sensor for ultrawide photography. The cameras are now capable of 8K 30fps videos, along with 4K 60fps, and 1080p 60/240fps formats. The front camera on the main display comes with a modest 4MP selfie sensor, along with a 10MP selfie snapper on the cover display.
We shot some day-time and night-time samples at different focal lengths, even checking out how the digital zoom performs. Take a look at the samples below.
Day-time shots
Night-time shots
Verdict
While Samsung may not have brought in major design changes, the new Galaxy Z Fold5 does come with a sleeker and lighter chassis, along with eliminating the gaps when the main foldable display in its folded state. The device is now 13.4mm thick when it is folded, and 6.1mm thick in its unfolded state. The smartphone also weighs 253g, which is lighter than previous versions. However, the main foldable display and the cover display size and screen resolution are the same. The cameras are also the same, which include a 50MP main shooter, a 10MP telephoto snapper, and a 12MP ultra-wide snapper.
The new smartphone also comes with a faster Snapdragon 8 Gen2 SoC for better performance and gaming, along with 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB as storage options. The device also comes with 12GB of RAM, along with Android 13 OS and One UI 5.1.1 interface. While Samsung could have at least increased the battery capacity, the Z Fold5 did last longer than the Z Fold4 for our battery tests. The device also has support for 25W wired fast charging, 15W wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse charging capability.
