Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Smartphone Review

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Smartphone Review – The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the latest and the greatest foldable smartphone ever released by Samsung. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is meant to overcome the shortcomings of the previous generation that stopped people from buying that. This generation also promises to bring general quality-of-life improvements that Samsung believes will significantly enhance user experience.

On top of that, Samsung has included all the latest technologies such as the best display in the industry, the flagship camera setup, the decent-sized battery, and also the latest flagship chipset. I mean the chipset is literally designed specially for the Samsung Galaxy lineup of smartphones. But only after our thorough review, we can tell for sure if the new foldable smartphone can actually deliver all that it claims. So, without any further ado, let’s begin with a detailed review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Smartphone Review

Highlights

1. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 features a 7.6-inches Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel pixels for the main display, while the cover display gets a 6.2-inches Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel.
2. It is powered by the flagship QualcommSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which is capable of reaching up to a 1×3.36 GHz clocking speed.
3. The smartphone is pre-loaded with the latest Android 13OS out of the box with the OneUI 5.1.1 user interface.
4. The foldable phone has a 50MP triple camera system on the back and a 10MP dual selfie camera.
5. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 also has a Li-Po 4400mAh battery with 25W of fast wired charging and 15W fast wireless charging support.

Design and Display

The design of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 didn’t change much as compared to last year. There are subtle changes in the back panel and the side frame, but that’s okay considering it was just fine and didn’t need any change. However, where it did need changes was in the mechanics of the hinge. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and all the previous Folds had a gap in the shape of a V when the smartphone was folded. This gap meant dust and lines could easily get in and it doesn’t look good in our opinion. Well, it works perfectly as it should right now.

The new mechanics of the hinge allow the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 to shut firmly without any gaps. The side frame is made of armor aluminum while the glass back carries protection from Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, so the Fold 5 is as strong as it can be. The hinge is also solid and there’s no cracking of any sort. It has two displays, a main display of a 7.6-inches Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel and another display on the outside that consists of a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel. Both displays support  120Hz refresh rate, while the main panel also supports HDR10+resolution.

Also, both displays are Dynamic 2X in nature, meaning the refresh rate can get as high as 120Hz and can also get as low as 1Hz to save battery life.  Aside from this, you will also get Stylus support on the device that can be used on both displays. The outer display is further protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection. The foldable is also quite lightweight at just 253 grams, which considering the size of the smartphone is perfectly balanced. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is available in Icy Blue, Blue, Gray, Cream, and Phantom Black color options. Furthermore, the smartphone is also protected by IPX8 water resistance.

Memory and Internal

The chipset powering the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the latest flagship 4nmQualcommSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. The processor is manufactured specifically for Galaxy smartphones and features higher clock speeds compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in other smartphones as it can reach up to a 1×3.36 GHz clocking speed. The new processor is the most powerful Android processor and can go toe to toe with the Apple A16 chipset. Being built on 4nm, the chipset is also very efficient and consumes very little power, so the idle battery drain is extremely low.

All your favorite apps will launch in an instant and the app-opening speed is on another level. Anything you run on this smartphone just flies. This performance level is also carried over to the gaming. Playing high-fidelity games like Genshin Impact, CODm, and PUBG, among others is no problem here. With the Adreno 740GPU, you can play games for hours and the smartphone won’t even break a sweat. Thanks to the large size of the smartphone, any heat generated by the chipset dissipates quickly, so you won’t feel anything from the outside.

The smartphone comes with the latest Android 13OS out of the box with the One UI 5.1.1 interface for better customization support. The new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with 12GB of RAM &256GB to 1TB of internal storage. The smartphone also has support for 5G connectivity for gigabit-like speeds.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has three cameras on the back – a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom capabilities. The main 50MP camera is pixel-binned, so it can bin multiple camera samples into one single picture. This binning process along with optimizations from Samsung allows for some breathtaking shots. So, the main camera produces great details with natural saturation in the pictures. The dynamic range and the sharpness of the shots are natural and on point.

The same goes for the 12MP ultra-wide lens, which manages to produce equally amazing shots with equally brilliant detail levels. There’s no difference or color shift in photos taken in an ultra-wide camera when compared to the main camera. The telephoto camera is no slouch either. It managed to provide some of the most impressive zoomed shots. The details come out cleaner than any other foldable smartphone. Even the night photography is spectacular so Samsung truly outperformed itself.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 produces night shots that are just as good as their top-of-the-line Galaxy S23 Ultra. The camera optimization combined with the Night Mode algorithm, allows for some pictures that look extremely well-lit with a decent amount of details in them. Also, the pictures coming out of the selfie cameras also look just as fine. There are two selfie cameras, one for each display. The main foldable display has a 4MP under-display sensor that is hidden under the display, which sort of gives you the illusion of a completely bezel-less display.

On the cover display, there’s a simple punch hole for a normal 10MP selfie sensor. The selfies coming out of both sensors have a good amount of detail and a very natural skin tone. You may think the 4MP sensor may not produce that level of selfies, but it does, thanks to Samsung’s optimizations. However, the pictures are slightly softer compared to the 10MP sensor. When it comes to video recording, the rear cameras can shoot up to 8Kvideos@30FPS with gyro-EIS and OIS support. But the selfie camera can only shoot videos at a maximum of 4K@60FPS from the 10MP selfie sensor, while the selfie cameras are limited to just gyro-EIS.

Battery and Others

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has a Li-Po 4400mAh battery inside the smartphone, which has been optimized to power a foldable smartphone of this caliber. You may believe using a smartphone with two different displays and the plethora of technologies it has, may make a battery capacity of just 4400mAh not enough for this smartphone, but you would be wrong. Thanks to the power-efficient components inside, the battery can provide a full day’s worth of battery even with heavier usage and that includes a decent bit of photography, Netflix streaming, and a bit of gaming.

However, if you happen to use the foldable smartphone for lighter tasks like calling, texting, using social media apps, and a bit of internet browsing, then the smartphone may last even longer and that is indeed a great battery backup. In terms of charging, you will receive 25W fast wired charging, 15W fast wireless charging, and 4.5 reverse wireless charging support on the foldable device. Apart from that, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has support for triple-band Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC, stereo speakers, an ultra-wideband, and a USB Type-C port for charging. As for pricing, the phone starts at $1617 (Rs 154,999 in India) approx. for the base variant.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Pros and Cons

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Specifications Detail

Down below you can see the full specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the foldable smartphone that Samsung originally envisioned, but what we initially got with the original Galaxy Z Fold was far from it. People complained about all sorts of issues and Samsung slowly fixed them with each iteration of the Galaxy Z Fold. With the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung has fixed the last complaint that users had and that was the gap encountered when the smartphone was folded. The foldable smartphone is finally free from all gaps. Everything about this smartphone is top-notch and worth the price you pay for this foldable device. Then whether we talk about the display, chipset, cameras, or battery, all departments seem to be the best possible, the brand makers could offer to a user.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 smartphone is also protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victuts 2 and IPX8 water resistance. On top of that, it brought other improvements that really enhanced the experience from a user’s perspective. However, if you want a budget foldable smartphone from Samsung, then Galaxy Z Flip 5 is an interesting option. It will remind you of the flip phones of the old days. If you are looking for an alternative option you can check the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 which comes with similar specs with better battery support. However, the final decision is up to you.