It has been almost a year since Samsung unveiled the now previous generation of foldable smartphones, and they’ve now been succeeded by the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5. The “5” here, represents the generation, and not specifically 5G connectivity, a common theme with smartphone naming in these times. Much like last year, Samsung’s focus is on refinement with the two very distinct form factors they have in play here.
The Galaxy Z Fold5 has the expected upgrade for the processor, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 succeeding the Galaxy Z Fold4’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen1. The company insists this chip is part of what it calls the “Snapdragon® 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy” – the belief here is, specific customisations have been made by Qualcomm with regards to graphic performance, for Samsung’s new foldables.
There’s a reason why, as Alex Katouzian, who is senior vice president and general manager, mobile, compute, and XR businesses at Qualcomm Technologies, explains in a statement.
“Samsung is important to our mission to deliver the world’s best mobile experiences to consumers. They continue to set the pace for innovation and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy power the newest flagship Galaxy device line-up,” he said.
The biggest change, and this is quite apparent visually as well, is the all-new hinge mechanism. The Galaxy Z Fold5 will now fold flat, as in, there won’t be a gap visible between the two sides of the screen in the folded state. That should, in theory, help safeguard the screen more (whether in the trouser pocket or in a bag) as things won’t get lodged into that gap.
It should also save a few millimetres in thickness and the phone is 10 grams lighter to carry around (253 grams is still no mean feat). Samsung said the S Pen Fold Edition is slimmer too, but the specifics aren’t clear.
The other tweak this foldable screen gets is boosted brightness – it is now rated at 1750 lumens, a significant step up from the 1200 lumens of the previous version of this Foldable Dynamic AMOLED was capable of. It should mean better visibility under bright sunlight, but how it impacts power consumption in case of sustained use at the new highs of illumination, remains to be seen – the battery size hasn’t changed after all (it’s still 4400 mAh).
Refinement, a clear theme for the fifth-generation foldable phones, is further explained by TM Roh, president and head of Mobile Experience Business for Samsung Electronics. “Every day, more people choose our foldables because they offer an experience people want that they can’t get on any other device,” he said, in a statement.
Many other specifications and ergonomic detailing have also been carried forward. To be fair, there wasn’t much need to reinvent the wheel. It is still a 7.6-inch foldable screen paired with a smaller 6.2-inch secondary display when the phone is in folded mode. The cameras, which were significantly improved with last year’s iteration, largely remain as is with a 50-megapixel sensor leading the way. Only the telephoto sees an improvement from 10 megapixels to 12 megapixels.
It also means the price (at least the $1799 price point globally) remains the same too.
For the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, the change you need to keep an eye on is the increased size of the cover display when this phone is flipped shut. The 1.9-inch display makes way for a larger 3.4-inch screen. The software is also smarter, to make better use of the new-found real estate. There will be widgets that you can place here, a full QWERTY keyboard that can be called upon to quickly reply to text messages (the Flip4 had some predefined replies only) and most apps will be able to utilise this space too.
The idea is to save the user some time otherwise spent ‘un-flipping’ the Galaxy Z Flip5’s foldable display. Much like its larger foldable sibling, the theme of the flip phone’s newest iteration is also about carrying forward what simply works. The main display remains a 6.7-inch one (no brightness boost here), the dual camera system and battery capacity (3700 mAh) haven’t been changed.
As expected, the processor gets an upgrade. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy powers the Galaxy Z Flip5 too.
That means the Galaxy Z Flip5 could spell some discomfort for the latest generation Moto Razr Plus, which is not only powered by a generation older chip, but also misses out on some utilities such as the better water resistance rating of Samsung’s phone. Samsung’s implementation of IPX8, like its predecessor, means it is protected from water immersion up to 1.5 meters for as many as 30 minutes. The Moto Razr Plus, alongside some claims of dust resistance, has an official IP52 rating which makes it just splash-resistant.
In India, the Galaxy Z Fold5 is up for pre-orders (Samsung calls them “pre-reserve” on the Samsung online store and indeed online shopping platforms such as Amazon.in too. Pricing for each variant hasn’t been announced yet, but the Galaxy Z Fold5 can be pre-ordered in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options. Default colours are Icy Blue, Phantom Black and Cream, while Grey and Blue (this is different from Icy Blue) are online exclusive colour options.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is following the same contours of availability. You can pre-order now with 256GB and 512GB storage options. Mint, Lavender, Graphite and Cream are the standard colour choices, whereas online exclusive colourways include Grey, Blue, Green and Yellow.
It is expected deliveries commence on August 11, and the India pricing details should be clarified sometime before that.
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