Galaxy Z Fold5, Z Flip5, Watch6, Tab S9 hands-on review

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 hands-on review

We're moving on to what has to be the event's headliner - the flagship foldable, Galaxy Z Fold5. More of an evolutionary step, this generation's most notable achievement is that it addresses one of the key complaints we (and just about everyone else) had with Galaxy Folds in the past. When the Fold5 is closed the two halves leave no gap between them.

Galaxy Z Fold4 (left) next to Galaxy Z Fold5

We already talked about this with relation to the Z Flip5, and things are similar on the Fold as well. The latest generation has gotten thinner when folded thanks to the Flex hinge and the volume savings are even more tangible here - the thickness has decreased by 2.4mm at the hinge end.

Hinge bits

Unlike the Flip, however, the Fold has also lost weight and tips the scales at 253g. It may not be a huge improvement and the difference isn't readily felt, but 10g is 10g, and that's moving the Fold closer to what is a more manageable heft. Still, the Honor Magic V2 offers a lighter package, at 231g and with a bigger screen to boot.

Other improvements Samsung points out on the Galaxy Z Fold5 include higher brightness on the internal display. It's now rated at 1750nits of peak brightness (up from 1300nits on the Fold4), while the high-brightness mode value has gone up from 1000nits to 1200nits. Obviously, we couldn't verify those claims in the hands-on area, but a review unit is bound to find its way to our headquarters.

Galaxy Z Fold4 (left) next to Galaxy Z Fold5

Most other bits related to the internal display have remained the same and it's a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X Infinity Flex Display (yes, it's all of those things). Resolution is 1812x2176px in a squarish 10.8:9 aspect ratio and the refresh rate can dynamically adjust between 1Hz and 120Hz.

Again, just like on the Flip, the new hinge's benefits remain mostly on the outside (not that the gapless isn't appreciated). On the inside, the panel still has a fairly pronounced groove along the vertical axis, though you tend to be less likely to run your fingers across it in most use cases - it doesn't interfere with vertical swiping.

The Z Fold5 remains a powerhouse for productivity. It supports S Pen input on its internal display, just be sure to get the Fold Edition of S Pen - it will refuse to work with S Pens designed for glass-covered Galaxies. The Z Fold5's cover display continues to be incompatible with Samsung's styluses, which is somewhat understandable given its relatively impractical size and aspect ratio, though it does introduce a feeling of disconnect when you've got your S Pen out and need to switch between displays for one reason or another.

While on the topic of S Pens, you can have the Fold Edition stylus on its own, or get the Slim S Pen Case that includes the stylus. The case is actually pretty nice itself and features a handy holster for the S Pen with slide-to-eject functionality. It's not quite as convenient as stowing the S Pen inside the handset, but we've come to accept that's not happening on a foldable.

Slim S Pen Case • S Pen Fold Edition

The usual productivity features we know to expect from the Galaxy Folds are here as well, including the advanced taskbar and all sorts of multi-window and floating window functionality. Now there's also an improved Flex mode with larger and easier to operate controls (if you're willing to dedicate half the screen to that).

Flex mode

Sort of a half a screen is what you get on the front of the Z Fold5. Samsung hasn't changed this one either and it's a tall and narrow 23.1:9, 904x2316px unit that remains just adequate in its usefulness. We'd appreciate a shift towards a more sensible aspect - maybe next year? Another Dynamic AMOLED 2X, this one only operates in the 48-120Hz range.

Just like the Flip, the Z Fold5 comes in new colorways, even if the selection isn't quite as varied as on the smaller phone. Phantom Black remains an option, but is now joined by Icy Blue and Cream in place of the Graygreen and Beige of the previous generation.

Sure enough, there will be options exclusive to Samsung.com - two of them. These are called Gray and Blue and feature similar dark graphite satin-finished frames as opposed to the glossy ones on the mainstream colorways.

Samsung.com exclusive colorways for the Galaxy Z Fold5: Gray • Blue

Unsurprisingly, the glass panels are made of Gorilla Glass Victus 2, while the frame is Samsung's Armor Aluminum-branded alloy. Again, the Galaxy Z Fold5 is water-resistant down to 1.5m for as long as 30min - that's what the 8 in the IPX8 rating stands for. Galaxies used to be unmatched for water resistance in the foldable world, but that's not quite the case after the Google Pixel Fold and the Mate X3 came to be.

Stop us if you've heard this before, but the Z Fold5 comes with the same cameras as the Z Fold4. It's not quite as photographically challenged as the Flip, but it's nowhere near the state-of-the-art cameraphones.

A primary 50MP unit is joined by 12MP ultrawide and an almost-3x 10MP telephoto. Perhaps we should try and launch a petition for a proper periscope tele on a future Galaxy Fold, regardless of how thick that bump is going to be.

The 10g weight savings we started with aren't at the expense of battery capacity - that's been kept at 4,400mAh. Again, we're having high hopes that the new Snapdragon will help elevate the Z Fold5's endurance beyond the 4th-gen's already excellent numbers. We shall see soon enough.