Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 review

Design, build quality, handling

A new hinge that enables gapless closing of the two halves is the defining feature of the Galaxy Z Fold5. It's not only the most obvious change, but also addresses an issue that has drawn criticism for years now.

The gap made the Folds look outright ancient when standing next to other horizontal foldables, but it was also a usability issue since it enabled dust and other unpleasantries such as sand to get in. And with the relatively soft flexible screen inside hard particles could lead to scratching if you weren't careful enough.

Beyond the new hinge it's a very familiar device, only with an updated glass sheets over the cover screen and back. The new Galaxy Z Fold5 uses the latest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 panels for its exterior, compared to the Victus+ on the previous Fold. Meanwhile, the armor aluminum frame and the plastic protector over the foldable screen appear to have stayed the same.

The Galaxy Z Fold5 is IPX8-rated for water resistance. There is no dust rating because the Flex hinge cannot be made dust-proof just yet.

The fact that it closes flat makes the Z Fold5 up to 2mm thinner in its folded state, while the new hinge has helped shed 10g compared to the Z Fold4 and the Fold5 tips the scales at 253 g. That's not light by any stretch, but it's not far off the iPhone 14 Pro Max's 240 g for example.

Finally, while we are talking about the Fold5 and Fold4 differences, we can also mention the LED flash placement - it is now outside of the camera island, making the island itself a bit shorter.

The Fold5 looks almost compact when closed, with a tall but narrow cover display. It is the same 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with 23:9 aspect ratio, 120Hz refresh rate and a tiny punch hole for the 10MP selfie camera as on the Fold4. The Gorilla Glass Victus 2 sheet on top should make it extra resistant to scratching and shuttering.

The rear panel is also covered by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 with the three-camera metal housing is jutting out a bit, as usual. Each of the camera lenses has a slightly elevated metal ring around it for some extra protection, but the result is a phone that wobbles if used closed on a flat surface.

As we mentioned before, the LED flash is now outside the camera island, flush with the back.

The left side of the Fold5 is all glossy and with Samsung's logo. It disappears completely in open state.

The bottom of the Fold5 has one of the speakers, the mouthpiece, and the USB-C port.

The top houses a total of three microphones and the other speaker. There is also a small, almost invisible outlet above the cover screen for earpiece purposes.

Finally, the right side of the Fold5 accommodates the dual-SIM tray, the volume control key, and the power/lock button that also houses the always-on fingerprint scanner. This sensor is quite fast and reliable.

Now let's have a look at the Galaxy Z Fold5 unfolded.

The 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen offers truly wonderful experience when it comes to multimedia, gaming, and most importantly - multi-tasking. It is sharp, bright, and colorful. And immersive, of course!

There are no interruptions like perforations or notches, with the 4MP camera sitting under the display in the top left part. The thinning of the screen pixels above it is barely visible and most of the time we did not notice it.

The foldable screen is covered by a plastic film, one that you are not supposed to peel off yourself according to the official warning. However, Samsung has made those replaceable for the past few years, so if something was to happen to it you can get a new one installed at a service center.

There is also a slightly bulging plastic housing around the large screen. It doesn't get in the way of working with the phone, but the kind of thick bezels take a bit of the futuristic experience of the foldable away.

Now is probably the moment to talk about the crease and the two ways to look at it. The Galaxy Z Fold5 has by far the most prominent crease of any foldable currently in the market and it's immediately noticeable when you open the phone. You can feel it too, although scrolling in the middle of the huge screen is a rare occurrence as your fingers rarely go that far.

On the other hand, everyone that's spent some time with a Galaxy Fold will confirm that you get used to it quite quickly and you stop seeing or feeling it a week or two into using the phone.

The Z Fold5 comes in new colorways, too. Phantom Black remains an option, and it is now joined by Icy Blue and Cream in place of the Graygreen and Beige of the previous generation.

There are also two more hues exclusive to Samsung.com - Gray and Blue. They feature dark graphite satin-finished frames as opposed to the glossy ones on the mainstream color options.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is comfortable to work with in both opened and closed states. And it sure looks luxurious and unique. It is a bit thick and heavy smartphone to carry around your pocket compared to other smartphones, but it's a price many will gladly pay for the tablet-sized display.

This year Samsung has launched a new Slim S-Pen Case, which is exactly what the name suggests. It's a protective case that fits nicely on both of the Fold5 sides and the rear part also houses a handy holster for the pen with slide-to-eject functionality. And it's miles more compact than the options previous Galaxy Folds enjoyed.

A limitation that carries over is that only the foldable (internal) display supports this S Pen for Fold Edition with its retractable tip. S Pens for glass-covered Galaxies are incompatible as they might scratch the foldable screen. The Z Fold5's cover display continues to be incompatible with any of Samsung's styluses, which introduces a feeling of disconnect when you've got your S Pen out and need to switch between displays for one reason or another.