Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review In Progress

Remember flip phones? The little pre-smart phone devices that would fold down into something that could easily fit in your purse or pocket? Well, they’re back – kind of. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is actually only the fourth phone in its lineup but the gist is it’s a foldable phone that’s reminiscent of the flip phones of yore, just with a foldable touch screen instead of a keypad. And, it seems freaking awesome.

I got a chance to play with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 a bit before launch in New York, and I’m already looking forward to spending more time with it for a full review. And because the Flip 5 is powered by the most powerful mobile chipset on the market, it’s much more than just a gimmick – this is what foldable smartphones should be.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – Design and Features

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is exactly what you would think a modern flip phone would look like. When it’s closed, you get a 3.4-inch screen filled with widgets that lets you check notifications at a glance. Then, when you open it up, it expands to a full 6.7-inch HD AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,640 x 1,080. If you saw that resolution and thought it looks like a long phone, well, it is. When the phone is unfolded it’s a full 6.5 inches long, making for a great device to scroll social media with.

But despite the fact that it’s a foldable, it’s not exactly thick when it’s folded. The phone is just 0.59 inches thick, and thanks to the new hinge design this time around – one with less moving parts, mind you – the phone folds completely flat, which means no annoying gap.

This should mean the phone should be less prone to wear and tear from just tossing around in your purse or pocket, and should make it easier to use all around.

On the front of the phone (or the back when it’s unfolded), the front screen sits beneath the cameras, which means you can use the smaller outer display to take selfies with the 12MP rear camera, rather than just relying on the 10MP front camera – though luckily the phone does have both.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes in 4 different colors: Mint, Graphite, Cream, and Lavender. Or, if you buy the device through Samsung, you’ll be able to get the phone in Gray, Blue, Green, or Yellow.

Because I’ve only had a limited amount of time with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 so far, I haven’t been able to walk around with the device in my pocket quite yet. However, Samsung did have these adorable toy shopping carts in its preview area, and it fits extremely well there. Most of the pockets I do have are quite small, and I have no doubt in my mind that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is going to be one of the easiest phones to carry around since the iPhone exploded in 2007.

You’ll be able to customize the outer display, as well, which will make the phone especially great at checking the little notifications and tasks that come up during the average day. Samsung didn’t let me install any of my own apps to see how this plays out at the preview event, but I’ll be updating this when I get a chance to test the device for a full review.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – Specs and Performance

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, just like its bigger sibling, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This is paired with 8GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, depending on which model you shell out for.

The front selfie camera is a 10MP sensor with a focal distance of 2.2 and an 85° FOV – pretty standard for a selfie camera in 2023. The rear camera is also decent, coming in with a 12MP Ultra Wide and a 12MP Wide-angle lens. This is quite a bit under the spec of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, but what you have to keep in mind is the size of the device. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn’t really have the space for a super-powered camera.

But again, Samsung wouldn’t let me install any apps that I would use to see how well the phone performs at its preview event, but my full review will be coming soon, and I’ll dive into performance then. But on paper, it looks like the Galaxy Z Flip 5 should be easily able to run pretty much anything you throw at it, and because it has a massive 3,700mAh battery, it should last quite a while. Only time will tell though.