The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 is the latest foldable clamshell phone from Samsung, and I have been using it for almost a month. In this review, I’m going to tell you what I think about this flip phone.
What’s in the Box?
You get the phone, a USB-C cable, a SIM removal tool, warranty information, a quick start guide, and nothing else. Samsung is still not bundling a charger with the phone.
Design and build quality
The Galaxy Z Flip5 has a sleek and stylish design. It’s made of armour aluminium and Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and it feels very premium in the hand. But this also means the phone is very slippery, so you should get a case.
The hinge is also much improved over previous models, and now you can close the phone with zero gap. Technically, there’s still some gap, but it’s very minimal.
The Z Flip5 is not waterproof, but it’s water-resistant and carries an IPX8 rating, similar to its predecessor.
This means that it can handle splashes, rain, and accidental submersion in water up to 1.5 meters deep for up to 30 minutes.
However, it’s important to note that water damage is not covered under the phone’s warranty, so it’s still recommended to avoid exposing the phone to water as much as possible.
The side-mounted fingerprint sensor works pretty well most of the time. But sometimes it won’t register my thumb, and I have no idea whether there’s something wrong with my thumb or the sensor.
Besides that, a YouTuber did a test recently, and they folded and unfolded the phone more than 400,000 times before a pink line was visible running down the screen.
So, if you unfold and fold it around 100 times a day, the phone will still last you for 10 years, and by that time, the battery will probably be the one that fails first.
Display(s)
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display, which is made out of ultra-thin glass, and it’s protected by a layer of plastic screen protector. So if you have a long thumb nail, you might want to consider trimming it.
The screen is very bright; I have no problem at all using the phone under intense sunlight. It’s also crisp, smooth, and responsive with its 120Hz refresh rate.
Let’s talk about the crease. It’s still there, and it’s unlikely to go away anytime soon. Due to the crease, there will be slight distortion to the image quality, but over time, I got used to it and my mind learned to “ignore” it.
The 3.4-inch AMOLED cover screen, or Flex Window, as Samsung calls it, is also much larger than previous model, making it more useful for taking selfies, checking notifications, controlling music playback, watching YouTube, and even playing some games if you so desire.
But the cover screen runs at a 60Hz refresh rate only. It would be nice if it ran at 120Hz as well. Also, due to its small screen size, it’s not exactly ideal for typing, but it’s great for taking photos.
Audio
The Z Flip5 features both a bottom speaker and a top speaker that doubles as an earpiece. When the phone is held in portrait orientation, the top speaker delivers the left channel audio, but in landscape mode, the phone dynamically assigns the audio channels based on the handset’s spatial orientation.
Overall, the phone produces clear vocals and well-defined treble, along with a respectable low-end response. It’s nothing exceptional, but it will get the job done nicely.
Camera
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a dual-camera system on the back. The main sensor is 12MP, and the ultrawide sensor is 12MP as well.
The phone’s main camera has good exposure and wide dynamic range, accurate white balance in daylight and indoors and texture details are well preserved.
The ultrawide camera consistently produces high-quality images with excellent colour representation and a great dynamic range.
It effectively minimises noise, and the level of detail is notably strong at the centre of the frame, though it slightly diminishes towards the corners.
In low-light conditions, the camera performs admirably. The Night mode activates automatically when the camera senses low-light situations, and it proves to be reliable, consistently delivering well-exposed shots with a commendable dynamic range. Colours remain vibrant and rich, and there is ample detail captured in the photos.
There’s 10MP selfie camera on the inner display, but why use that when you can use the superior 12MP camera and Flex Window to take selfies.
The camera captures outstanding detail, boasts impressive colour accuracy and dynamic range, and also achieves a natural background blur effect using the 12MP main camera.
Battery life
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 3,700mAh battery. It’s not the biggest battery on the market, but it’s enough to get you through a full day of moderate use.
If you use the Flex Window more than the inner display, you should be able to squeeze out a bit more battery life.
The Galaxy Z Flip5’s battery life is decent but not exceptional. I recommend bringing a power bank along with you.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is an efficient chip, but no matter how efficient it is, a bigger physical battery capacity is always better. I hope Samsung will include a bigger battery in the next Flip.
The phone also supports 25W fast charging, so you can quickly top it up when you need to. It takes between 75 and 80 minutes to charge fully using my OnePlus 150W charger.
Software
The Galaxy Z Flip5 runs Android 13 with One UI 5.1.1. It’s a clean and user-friendly interface. The phone also has a number of features that are specifically designed for foldable phones, such as Flex Mode and Split Screen Mode. But let’s focus on the Flex Window since this is the main selling point of this phone.
The default interface begins with a customisable stack of lockscreen cards, essentially functioning as a lockscreen.
Various types of these cards are available, with some displaying only a clock, while others include widgets showing weather and a summary of notifications.
To access this stack, you perform a long-press on the homescreen, allowing you to navigate through the different cards, all of which you can personalise on the main screen.
Additionally, you can perform a pinch-in gesture to access a thumbnail view of all the currently active widgets.
Pulling down from the top opens a selection of quick toggles, including a brightness slider (which also includes an auto setting).
You can activate full apps on the cover screen in two ways. The first method involves enabling a toggle in Galaxy Labs, but currently, only five apps are supported: Google Maps, Netflix, YouTube, and Google and Samsung’s respective test Messages apps.
For most other apps to function on the cover screen, you’ll need to install Good Lock from Samsung’s Galaxy store.
This advanced tool unlocks hidden functionality on Galaxy phones through independently-installable modules. You can read more about Good Lock and how to get it working HERE.
When the Z Flip5 is closed, you can activate the rear camera by pressing the power button twice. The external screen will then serve as a viewfinder, making it highly convenient for taking photos. I regularly fold the phone in half and use it like a tripod to help me take photos.
Overall, the Z Flip5’s software is smooth, consistent, and has a long software-update policy. The cover screen is useful and you can actually get things done on it without flipping the phone open. Also, the phone will handle the majority of what you throw at it.
Minor quibbles
The phone does get warm when I’m on video calls, taking photos for a longer period of time, or when the brightness cranks up to the max when I’m outside during sunny days.
Sometimes, the warmth can reach the point where it becomes uncomfortable to touch, but it cools down quickly when I leave it alone.
After going through some of the Reddit posts (post 1, post 2, post 3 and post 4), it seems this is a common issue. Hopefully, Samsung can address this issue via a software update and not a hardware issue.
Should You Get The Z Flip5?
The Galaxy Z Flip5 is a great foldable clamshell phone. It has a sleek design, a durable hinge, a larger and useful cover screen, and a good camera system.
However, the relatively short battery life and incremental improvements compared to its predecessor could potentially be disappointing to some users.
If you have never use a foldable clamshell phone before and you’re looking to get one, the Galaxy Z Flip5 is a great option.
Alternatively, you might want to consider waiting for the upcoming Oppo Find N3 Flip, which is set to be released soon.
I suggest holding off on your purchase and seeing what features and improvements Oppo’s N3 Flip brings to the table compared to the Z Flip5 before making your purchase.
It’s a prudent approach to ensure you make an informed decision with your hard-earned money.
