Samsung hosted their annual Unpacked event a few weeks back in July of 2023, where they un-ravelled their new foldable flagship range – The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 & Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. If you’re new to the foldable smartphone scene, you may wonder what the difference is between the Samsung Fold and Samsung Flip: The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a flexible tablet that can fold into a pocket-friendly smartphone combining the best of both worlds for work and creativity. The Samsung Galaxy Flip, on the other hand, is a standard smartphone that can fold vertically into a compact clamshell delivering ultra pocket-sized power. So, introductions aside, these new devices offer several improvements over their predecessors, including faster processors, more durable hinges and longer-lasting batteries. Let’s look at what Samsung’s bought to the table with their 5th generation foldable range.
Internals
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display housed in a glass and aluminium frame. This is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, a considerable step up in protection against the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4’s Gorilla Glass +. Regarding water and dust resistance, the Flip 5 has identical credentials to its predecessor: IPX8, which allows the device to be submerged for up to 1.5m for 20 minutes, which is incredible for a foldable device. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is equipped with a flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor powering a fast and snappy user experience. The camera setup on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is identical to the previous generation, with two 12MP lenses and 4K recording capabilities. This is slightly anticlimactic as we anticipated a larger 32MP lens this year.
Many of the internal and design elements of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold are implemented on its younger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – which is quite ironic considering younger siblings usually receive hand-me-downs. Puns aside, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 shares the same processor and ruggedness credentials. Where it does differ, however, is in its display. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 features a dual display – its primary smartphone display is 6.2 inches, and its secondary tab displays a 7.6 inch; both feature dynamic AMOLED technology. The second notable difference between the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 is the Fold’s camera technology, which consists of a triple camera setup: A 50MP wide-angle lens, a 10MP telephoto lens, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. Of course, it has the rest of the expected camera gimmicks – slow motion recording, panoramic, and 4K recording capabilities.
Battery
Both the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 share the same battery this year as their previous generation counterparts. This consists of a 3700mAh battery for the Flip 5 and a 4400mAh battery for the Fold 5, both boasting 25W fast charging taking the device from 0-50% in a respectable half an hour. Whilst the figures for the 4th generation foldable range were pretty impressive, we cannot hide that we were looking forward to a little more out of this year. Perhaps a larger battery or faster charging.
Nevertheless, Samsungs 5th generation foldable range is still overall a vast improvement in power and speed, particularly with the Fold 5. Let us know your thoughts on the new range and whether you’d prefer a Fold or a Flip!
