Samsung makes some of the best foldable phones on the market. The company's offerings have been leading the foldable sales chart. But in recent years, the competition in the foldable space has increased, with the likes of Huawei, Honor, and Oppo coming up with some impressive offerings. To tackle them and ensure its top position is not challenged, Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 5 — its best take on a folding phone in 2023.
Announced at a Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul, South Korea, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a minor refinement over its predecessor. Barring the new hinge and faster internals, there's no other feature that immediately stands out. Compared to the competition, it does feel like the Samsung Z Fold5 lags in the innovation department. But then, the company trumps its competitors with a wider distribution network and attractive trade-in deals and offers.
Below is everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, including its hardware specifications, unique software features, camera details, pricing, as well as a few more choice details. We've also had an opportunity to use Samsung's newest foldable, so you'll want to check out our initial impressions..
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is Samsung's best foldable for 2023, packing a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 'for Galaxy' chip, 12GB RAM, and superfast UFS 4.0 storage. The new Flex Hinge enables the phone to close fully flat, though the Fold 5 falls short in other aspects.
Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 looks a lot like its predecessor, but there are still enough differences to tell the phone apart. Right off the bat, you'll notice the slimmer new Flex hinge, which allows the Fold 5 to close fully flat. This was an issue with the Korean giant's previous foldables, as they could not fold flat, leading to dust settling on the inner screen.
Another benefit of this revamped hinge is the Fold 5 feels more comfortable to hold in hand. It is lighter and slimmer, too, weighing 8.92oz and measuring 0.53 inches when folded. With several new foldable phones from Chinese companies closing fully flat, the Z Fold 5 desperately needed a new hinge, and Samsung has delivered. Admittedly though, the Flex Hinge does little about the crease on the inner folding display, which is still visible.
As we noted in our Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on, the redesigned hinge is welcome, but the Fold desperately needed it. And while the Fold 5 is Samsung's thinnest and lightest Fold yet, it's a far cry from the Honor Magic V2.
On the back, Samsung has repositioned the LED flash to move it outside the camera bump. The cameras protrude more from the body and feature silver rings that further accentuate them. The last significant design change is that the company has done away with the green shade, which has been a staple color of the company's Fold lineup for the last two years. Instead, you have three new Z Fold 5 color options to choose from: a new Ice Blue option — which looks pretty rad — alongside the usual Black and Cream colors. Meanwhile, Blue and Gray are exclusive to Samsung's online store.
Key Takeaways
- The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is the company's new big foldable phone for 2023, featuring a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, 12GB RAM, and superfast UFS 4.0 storage.
- The new Flex Hinge allows the phone to close fully flat, addressing a previous issue with dust settling on the inner screen.
- Despite its similarities to the Z Fold 4, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 may still be considered one of the best foldable phones on the market. We'll know more at the time of our full review.
Samsung left the Galaxy Z Fold 5's display size unchanged. So, the cover display is a tall (23.1:9) and cramped 6.2-inch AMOLED panel with 48-120Hz refresh rate and HD+ (2316x904) resolution. If you've been lusting over the Google Pixel Fold and hoped Samsung would follow suit, prepare to be disappointed. Despite the obvious comparison, the Pixel Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 are surprisingly different in many key ways, and that includes their shape and size.
The main 7.6-inch QXGA+ folding screen is now up to 30% brighter and can reach a peak brightness of 1,750 nits. This should help when using the phone outside on a bright and sunny day. The Korean giant claims to use a new shock dispersion layer and a redesigned back for the main display to improve its durability.
For added peace of mind, Samsung is offering a one-time free internal screen protector replacement for the Fold 5. And in case you ever damage the display, the company will offer a one-time discount on it as well. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases are radically better than the last few years, so there's no reason for you to go case-free this year. And as with last year, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 retains an IPX8 certification, making it water-resistant but not dust-resistant.
If you were hoping the Galaxy Z Fold 5 would ship with a dedicated S Pen slot like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, that's not the case. You will have to buy one of Samsung's cases with an S Pen holder to carry the stylus around. That marks just one of the many differences between the Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the brand's two flagships for 2023.
Specs
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
- Brand
- Samsung
- SoC
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- Display
- 7.6" 2176 x 1812 120Hz OLED primary, 6.2" 2316 x 904 120Hz OLED cover display
- RAM
- 12GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB
- Battery
- 4,400mAh
- Ports
- USB Type-C 3.2, OTG
- Operating System
- Android 13 (One UI 5.1.1)
- Front camera
- 4MP f/1.8 under-display camera (80˚ FoV, 2.0μm pixels), 10MP f/2.2 cover display camera (85˚ FoV, 1.22μm pixels)
- Rear cameras
- 50 MP f/1.8 wide-angle (85˚ FoV, OIS, 1.0μm pixels), 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (123˚ FoV, 1.12μm pixels), 10MP f/2.4 telephoto (36˚ FoV, OIS, 1.0μm pixels)
- Connectivity
- 5G (inc mmWave), LTE, up to Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC
- Dimensions
- 67.1 x 155 x 13 mm folded, 130 x 155, 6.1 mm unfolded
- Colors
- Ice Blue, Phantom Black, Cream + Samsung.com exclusive Gray, Blue
- Weight
- 253g (8.92Oz)
- Charging
- 25W Super Fast Charging wired, 15W wireless (Qi)
- IP Rating
- IPX8
The Fold 5 is an iterative upgrade over the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and it is visible from the internal spec bump as well. Besides the switch to the latest processor and faster storage standard, the Fold 5 packs the same hardware as Samsung's 2022 foldable. The main highlight is the use of Qualcomm's current top-tier chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 'for Galaxy.' Thanks to Samsung's partnership with Qualcomm, the main Cortex-X3 core on the Snapdragon chip runs is clocked slightly higher at 3.36GHz. The company uses the same Snapdragon chip across its Galaxy S23 lineup.
Samsung claims to use a beefier cooling solution on the Fold 5. This should bode well for extended gaming sessions and when the phone is under sustained load, as it can dissipate the heat more effectively. The Fold 5 uses faster UFS 4.0 storage and is available in 256GB and 512GB configuration. There is a 1TB model, but it is exclusive to Samsung's online store in the US.
Apart from being fast, the Snapdragon chip is more efficient as well. This bodes well for the Fold 5's battery life, as its cell capacity remains unchanged at 4400mAh. It is the same story with the wired charging speed that remains at a paltry 25W, which can top up the phone to 50% in 30 minutes. Wireless charging support is also there, which tops out at 15W — the same as the last few Fold generations.
As for connectivity, the Fold 5 supports the newer Bluetooth 5.3 standard and faster 5G speeds, but that's about it. Everything else remains unchanged from Fold 4, so you get Wi-Fi 6E, dual-SIM connectivity with one eSIM support, USB Type-C 3.2, and NFC. There's no satellite connection, as seen on the iPhone 14 series, so the Fold 5 cannot help when you are not in a network zone.
Software
Samsung typically debuts a new point build of One UI with the launch of a new premium Galaxy device. With the Galaxy S23, the company debuted One UI 5.1, while the Fold 5 runs on One UI 5.1.1. This is based on Android 13, but the skin has many foldable-specific improvements for a better user experience.
Some of these enhancements include a new two-handed drag-and-drop gesture to make moving content between apps easier, the ability to switch pop-up apps into split-screen easily, and improved app previews in the Recent apps screen. The Taskbar has also been enhanced to show up to four recently used apps.
If you are an existing Fold user, your device will get the same enhancements with One UI 5.1.1 within a few weeks from the Fold 5's release.
Like the best Samsung phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will get four years of Android updates and five years of security patches. This means the phone will get Android 17 and security patches until July 2028.
Cameras
If you were hoping the Z Fold 5 would sport some new camera sensors or major imaging upgrades, prepare to be disappointed. Samsung uses the same camera setup on its flagship 2023 foldable as the Fold 4. So, there's a 50MP f/1.8 primary camera with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, and a 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto shooter. The 4MP under-display and 10MP f/2.2 selfie shooter on the cover display also remain unchanged.
As for features, you get 4K@60fps and 8K video recording, 3x optical zoom with up to 30x digital zoom, AI-based object detection, and the ability to capture high-resolution 50MP photos.
The faster ISP of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 'for Galaxy' ISP should help improve image quality in some scenarios, but the Fold 5 does not offer any major camera-focused improvements over its predecessor.
Release date and price
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 was announced alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 at a Galaxy Unpacked event on July 26th, 2023, despite the two foldables being surprisingly different. The phones immediately went up for pre-order and will hit retail stores on Friday, August 11th across all major markets and carriers.
If you can take advantage of the pre-order deals, you can get a free storage upgrade. So, you pay for the 256GB model but get a free upgrade to the 512GB configuration. And if you trade in your existing Fold, you can save up to $1,000 towards your new purchase. Check out the best Galaxy Z Fold 5 preorder deals to save money on Samsung's latest foldable.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is Samsung's best foldable for 2023, packing a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 'for Galaxy' chip, 12GB RAM, and superfast UFS 4.0 storage. The new Flex Hinge enables the phone to close fully flat, though the Fold 5 falls short in other aspects.