Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold5 closes flat, packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip

26 July 2023

This is the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and it's a bit better and smarter, but generally more of a refinement piece, rather than an overhaul. Which is probably not a bad thing, considering that the predecessor was the best-selling large foldable globally.

Samsung addressed the main complaint with the Galaxy Z Fold4 - the Galaxy Z Fold5 now closes fully flat, thanks to a new hinge design. Samsung calls it the Flex Hinge, and it's a dual rail structure, which diffuses external impacts. The new hinge enables a more flexible Flex mode - you'll be able to set the phone at just about any angle for hands-free photo taking or split screen applications.

The Galaxy Z Fold5 is also thinner thanks to the flat folding position, and 10g lighter than its predecessor.

The materials haven't changed - the Galaxy Z Fold5 uses an Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass panel over its external display and back. The Galaxy Z Fold5 adheres to the same IPX8 water-tight standard as its predecessor.

Both the cover display and the main screen have kept their respective parameters - you get a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a 2316x904px resolution, and 120Hz adaptive (48~120Hz) refresh rate on the outside, and a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with 2176x1812px resolution, and adaptive 120Hz (1~120Hz) refresh rate on the inside. The displays have also retained their aspect ratios.

The main screen has gotten 30% brighter this year reaching a peak of 1,750 nits.

Of course, the new Galaxy Z Fold5 gets the fastest mobile chip available in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy - the same as the one in the Galaxy S23 series - but the bigger Fold will likely be better at heat dissipation thanks to its overhauled cooling system and due to the larger surface area.

Camera was never the main focus of the Galaxy Z Fold series and the Galaxy Z Fold5 doesn't buck that trend. The entire camera system is seemingly unchanged from 2022 - you get two selfie cameras - a 10MP f/2.2 1.22μm unit embedded in the cover screen, and a 4MP f/1.8 2.0μm under-display camera on the inside.

Around the back you get a50MP f/1.8 1.0μm wide-angle shooter, a 12MP f/2.2 1.12μm ultrawide camera, and a 10MP f/2.4 1.0μm 3x zoom snapper.

The battery has the same 4,400mAh capacity with 25W wired charging and 15W wireless charging support. These enable 50% charge in 30 minutes, which is far from great by today's standards. Battery life should be slightly better than before, thanks to the new more efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip.

Samsung made improvements to multitasking in the Galaxy Z Fold5. The taskbar now holds up to four recent apps for quick switching back and forth, and the two-handed drag and drop allows you to move content between apps and screens more easily. Touch and hold an image in the Gallery with one finger and use another to open Notes and drop the image.

There's a new S Pen Fold Edition that's slimmer and more compact than before. It can be paired with the Slim S Pen Case, which combined with the pen is only slightly bigger than a regular case, and comes in a variety of colors.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is available for pre-order in select markets today and will be on sale from August 11. The phone is available in Icy Blue, Phantom Black, and Cream, with a choice of 12/256GB for €1,900/£1,749/$1,800, 12/512GB for €2,020/£1,849/$1,920, and 12/1TB, priced €2,260/£2,049/$2,160.

Feel free to check out our hands-on experience with the brand-new Galaxy Z Fold5 here.