Is the Galaxy Z Flip 5 the best foldable phone? See what Samsung did right and wrong

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Flip 5 with great news: a much larger external display. Not only that, the mobile has a new hinge that “really” closes and brings more performance power.

The company is a leader in this segment, but now sees fiercer competition. A clear example of this is the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra, which first came to the Brazilian market with a “big screen” exterior.

After using the new Z Flip 5 for a little over a week, I can say they got it right in a few ways. But the evolution isn’t the most impressive when compared to the Z Flip 4.

Classic design, only better

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is one of the best looking phones in Samsung’s catalog. And let’s be clear: it’s practically the same as the last model, which was also very nice. However, Samsung has fixed a problem of recent generations, eliminating the gap in the middle of mobile phones when they are turned off. This is one of the big changes in mobile.

The new hinge of the Z Flip 5 does not leave a gap when the phone is closed.

It has a new hinge that promises to be more durable and keeps the support stable in different positions.. The great thing is that when you fold it into a compact format, the mobile “really” closes and there is no gap in the middle.

Theoretically, by reducing this area, the cell phone may be less susceptible to long-term damage. As an example, we take a Galaxy Z Flip 3 that came from the factory, resulting in film that shouldn’t have been removed, broken right at the inflection point. In this way, small debris and dirt can get into the gap between the screen and the screen, which can certainly cause concern.

Not just for aesthetics, the change in design has made the phone 2mm thinner. It also has no dust protection in general, preventing anything from getting into the area and damaging the screen – but it still has IPX8 protection against water.

Preserving straighter edges and curved corners, the Z Flip 5 also continues with a two-tone aesthetic. In addition to the aluminum frame with the Samsung logo in the middle, the screen has a mirrored part and the bottom.

Available in light green, graphite, cream and pink. Samsung’s online store has special colors such as grey, blue, green and yellow. It is worth noting that some options change not only the color of the back, but also the frame.

And this shell format should, of course, continue to be successful in this line. It is very easy to carry in your pocket or even in your backpack as it is very compact when closed. But with tight pockets this can be a problem.

famous outdoor display

The highlight of the Z Flip 5 is its external display.. Much larger than the last model, it’s something Samsung has to do this year. And I say “necessary” because Motorola launched the Razr 40 Ultra here, while Oppo launched the Find N2 Flip in the global market.

This trend was expected, but that doesn’t mean it came without any surprises. For comparison purposes, The new screen is 3.4 inches, while the Z Flip 4 has an impractical 1.9-inch screen. Unlike Motorola’s competitor, it has a near-camera setup that is less immersive in direct comparison but works very well.

Here are some examples of what you can do on this new screen:

• Use widgets;

• View quick shortcuts from apps like Uber and Maps;

• Pause or change music;

• Control headphones;

• Access applications;

• Customize this external display;

• Having a much more functional camera preview;

• Typing on a mini full keyboard (not comfortable)

• Watching a long video, series or movie (which is not comfortable at all);

• Record audio messages on WhatsApp, Telegram or your favorite messaging app.

However, not all apps are compatible with this new screen.. There you can open the “Labs” menu in “Settings”, “Advanced Features” and select the apps you want to see on the external screen. The list is small precisely because very few are officially compatible, which will require more collaboration from Samsung with companies and developers.

If you want to open anything from a social network to Wild Rift or Call of Duty, you can. I don’t recommend it especially for games, but you can. All you have to do is go to the Galaxy Store and download it. good lock. Next, you download an extension called goodstar and then you can configure any application to be used on the external display.

Of course, it will largely depend on practicality, but also on the UI. There are apps that work really well like I use to control some smart home appliances. But many of them are not optimized or even recommended.

There is one point that caught my attention and it was not positive. The external display does not follow the internal hardware, it only achieves a refresh rate of 60 Hz. This gives the impression that the user experience suffers a ‘interruption’ when you exit one screen and switch to another, especially if you go from largest to smallest..

You may even think that this would be an exaggeration on my part, and I neither agree nor disagree with this statement. However, Motorola launched the Razr 40 Ultra on its external display at 144Hz, so it wasn’t impossible.

Maybe Samsung did this so as not to make the phone more expensive than it is. But wouldn’t the variable ratio on the new display be a good option to save battery life? This is because even in the always-on display mode it is fixed at 60 Hz – which, by the way, is very practical.

Now here’s a good tip for Z Flip 5 buyers: the mobile phone is configured by default to unlock only the internal screen using the fingerprint reader. So, to do this you need to access the biometric settings and enable this option for the external display. But you also have the option to double-tap the screen and then unlock it.

I almost missed it but the Z Flip 5 also has a built-in display that is actually the home screen. But here the changes were much more timid. It has the same 6.7-inch display as the Z Flip 4 on an AMOLED panel with Full HD+ resolution.

And of course, there’s still that crease right in the middle of the screen when it’s on. You only realize it’s there when you slide your finger or depending on the angle. Or if you pay close attention. Nothing bothering or bothering, just thought it was great to point it out here.

in my tests, Z Flip 5 kept the refresh rate variable between 24 and 120 Hz depending on the activity. And also high quality in color reproduction and fidelity. The big change is that it reaches up to 1,200 nits in brightness, with a peak of 1,750 nits.. This is easy to see when you are on a very sunny day and you can read on your phone without any issues.

To take it in perspective, the Z Flip 5’s main screen is just 0.1 inches smaller than the S23 Ultra’s. But they don’t look alike at all. The foldable phone’s 22:9 aspect ratio makes it much more flexible. This is nothing new either.

performance and battery

Samsung nails it on the head that the Z Flip 5 is just an S23 in a foldable form factor.. The “fault” for this is largely in the processor. The new foldable brings Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which promises not only high performance but also battery saving. It also has 8GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage.

In practice, the performance of the mobile phone is very good, yes. If you want to run heavy games, it will do so without a hitch; If you want more practical multitasking, you’ll get that too. Everything works very smoothly: from the most ordinary scanning to using it for work.

It seemed to get a little warmer than the S23 Ultra when gaming or filming for extended periods of time. Perhaps again because of its compact size.

On the other hand, the good part is, It should update to Android 17 and have five years of security updates.. This is a pretty comfortable running time.

Its battery continues with a capacity of 3,700 mAh, but Samsung guarantees that you can spend more time with your phone. That’s true, but I didn’t find the autonomy impressive.

With regular use, I was able to play games for a long time without playing games or watching too many videos. Screen on average 5 to 6 hours a day. In heavy usage, it may need to be charged before the end of the day.

In more direct tests consuming streaming video content and playing some games for 1 hour (each), we achieved the following usage averages (with 50% screen brightness):

• video streaming: -7% after 1 hour;
• Games: -16% after 1 hour.

We are talking about a very compact mobile phone that will still handle daily tasks very well, that is, within these parameters, it offers a comfortable battery. For example, on none of the test days I ended up with close to 30% energy, and that didn’t leave much room to use until the morning of the next day. It is also worth noting that it continues with the 25 W charger that comes out of the box.

Have the cameras improved a lot?

There is no camera difference between the Z Flip 4 and Z Flip 5, but that doesn’t mean it takes bad pictures. The handset continues with two 12 MP sensors, the main sensor being optical image stabilization (OIS) and ultra angular. Selfies are captured by a 10MP sensor.

The advantage of the flip format is to use the main cameras for selfies, considering that it can become a kind of tripod with a rotation screen for you to see the frame and the like. In addition, even making video calls is more practical.

So, with its not-so-powerful camera hardware, the Z Flip 5 perhaps takes a bigger leap forward in processing these images. Colors are well saturated, dynamic range is also very good, and photos have a great level of detail and retain the textures of objects and scenery.

Videos are also preferred in mobile format. You can use it as a kind of handheld camera and this can help in some cases, but it’s worth noting that optical stabilization is only available on the main sensor. Still, the mobile can shoot in 4K at up to 60fps.

But despite its timid evolution, Samsung’s handset excels in photo and video quality. Even in night environments, it manages to make objects sharper even with obvious noise.

However, it is worth noting that this is not a versatile camera set. Digital zoom doesn’t do any magic, so the lack of a telephoto sensor adds to that perception. If your focus is photography and you have more options with that, I’d say it’s more advisable to bet on the S23 Ultra or the iPhone 14 Pro..

Worth it?

Is it worth buying the Galaxy Z Flip 5? Yes like that. But with caveats. Mainly because this is a foldable phone and foldable phones are still expensive. This costs R$8 (256GB) or R$9k (512GB) depending on storage. So: if you’re really interested, wait for a promotion or a price cut.

It is worth noting another point. Its battery is satisfactory, but I cannot say that it is recommended for anyone who needs a mobile phone to work all day. This is not exclusive to Samsung: the Razr 40 Ultra can win in display hardware, but lose in overall performance, for example, and it also doesn’t have a very long battery life.

But I can also say that if you want to bet on a flip phone, this can be the best option when combining powerful hardware and external display. The first point is of course directly related to performance; secondly, because actually the new display is very practical and not just there for decoration.