Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review - It Gets Better (With Hacks!)

I took the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 into the Rocky Mountains for a little weekend out and came back with a lot of thoughts.

I took the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 into the Rocky Mountains for a little weekend out and came back with a lot of thoughts.

At $999.99 starting with 256 GB of storage (or $1119.99 for 512 GB), the newest Flippy phone sports this awesome cover screen that I’m sort of obsessed with and the upgrades over it’s predecessor make this one of my top contenders for favorite phone of 2023.

The Z Flip 5 comes in tons of color options, by far this line continues to impress me with personality and aesthetic. Of course, I chose Lavender, but there’s also 7 other colors available via Samsungs online store, linked below.

My unboxing short shows off what’s included in the box (spoiler alert - not much). I’ve spent about a month playing with the Flip 5 since it’s release. I’ve definitely put it through it’s paces in all sorts of environments. Now that she’s updated to One UI 5.1.1, it’s time to spill the tea on this lil smartphone. Huge thanks for subscribing via all my newest videos on this channel.

[ show dimensions on screen while discussing form factor ]

Dimensions:

Unfolded: 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9mm

Folded: 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1mm

Weight:

187 g (6.60 oz)

She cute. She smol. Form factor-wise, we’ve got a plastic folding display, gg victus 2 on the back, and an aluminum frame. The frame is shiny, just like on the Fold 5 and no major changes to ports or button placement. I haven’t put a case on it yet and so far she still looks fresh and brand spankin new. Its a slippery phone though, so i’ll probably add a case just so it stops sliding off the armrest on my couch.

It is IPX8 which hallelujah because I was running around a mountain town in the rain. If you watched my Fold5 review, the new hinge on the Flip5 is very similar. It’s reengineered, giving you that satisfying snap shut, and a very smooth movement when opening. I love that it shuts flat. This new hinge is such a baller upgrade and not only can it protect your screen better but dang, it just looks so good.

[ show cover display specs on screen ]

Cover Display:

Super AMOLED

3.4 inches

720 x 748 resolution, 306 ppi

60 hz refresh rate

1600 nits brightness capable

But really though, this new iteration of the flip's a big deal because of this big new cover display, called the Flex Window. Instead of that little tootsie roll sized screen we had on older models, this one gives you something that you can more easily view. While it’s still not big enough for major tasks (but yes, you can type on it), you can access a lot more, including google maps, watching youtube, and a few more via a labs feature, or you can add even more through Good Locks MultiStar. If you want a whole hacks and pro tips video about the Flip 5 by the way, comment below.

It does make a huge difference to the usability of this device. I find that I’m much more inclined to user the Flip5 vs the older models. It’s plenty bright for outdoor use - I used it to track my hike in the mountains - and it’s quick, with intuitive gestures and nice little interface features like a lil pill showing your playing entertainment in the bottom that you can click on. The only thing I think would make it better is if it didn’t have such large bezels. Make this screen bump out so it shares a similar width to the folding display, and push out on the bottom so the two cameras end up being punch holes instead of a large notch. Razr did it so I think that possibility exists.

[ show folding display specs on screen ]

Folding Display:

Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2x

6.7 inches

1080 x 2640 resolution, 425 ppi

120 Hz

HDR10+

1750 nits brightness capable

OK, enough about the exterior of this phone, let’s move inward, to the foldable display. This is a narrow device, but not as narrow as the Fold 5's cover display. It looks tall, but it’s close to the height of the S23 Ultra, by like 2 mm. I think because of that, since I already own an S23 Ultra, it was easy for me to adjust to this screen. But because this phone is skinny, if you want to watch something that is 16:9 rotated, it’s still going to have black bars on both sides, or zooming to take advantage of the full screen means the top and bottom of your video will be cut off.

I do like being able to use it in Flex Mode with the newly designed flex mode panel, and controlling media with the large icons on the bottom half of the screen. This doesn’t work with every app but it’s useful for Youtube, for example. The stereo speakers sound… average for a phone. Lacking bass, clear enough for podcasts and vocals.

It’s a fast phone with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset 8 GB RAM. I’ve got some benchmarks here to share [ insert 3d mark benchmarks ]. I can tell from the intuitiveness of this phone that Samsung’s been spending a lot of time fine tuning how usable the Flip and Fold lines are, and that includes the processing power and graphical abilities.

[ edit a video, play a game ]

So even though vanilla android setups are my #1, One UI works well here, to the point where I don’t hate it. I customize my phone so I can use Google Assistant instead of Bixby, etc.

I think the fingerprint sensor (it’s capacitive in the power button) makes sense here given how you’ll naturally hold this phone when closed. My fav is still the Ultrasonic ones but for the form factor - it makes sense. Face unlock is also available but I do find the fingerprint sensor to be more reliable.

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It takes about 30 mins to get to 50% charge with a supported 25W wired charger, and it can do 15W charging wirelessly. It can also do battery share with 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The battery is smol, at 3700 mAh, and this is my screen on time - reminder: this is a battery drain test, at full brightness using the main display, for normal usage, you’ll see a longer battery life.

[ camera specs

Rear Cameras:

12 MP, f/1.8, 24mm wide, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS

12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ ultrawide, 1.12µm

4K@30/60fps, 1080p@60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+

Selfie Camera:

10 MP, f/2.2, 23mm wide

4K@30fps ]

Lastly, we have the cameras. There are two rear cameras, and one selfie camera. The rear camera specs are here. Unique to folds is the ability to use your rear or main cameras for selfies and group photos, using it as a selfie camera. In the case of the Flip 5, this is done very easily. But since those two lenses are near your palm, I suggest flipping it upside down then taking a photo. I think the palm to take a photo is too quick, so I added voice prompts for the shutter, like this. [ smile! cheese! ]

There is an ultrawide for some cool scenic photos or group selfies, and there’s your main wide camera. But there’s no telephoto, and it only zooms to 10x digitally. It does take some beautiful photos via the main and ultrawide though. That includes some nice aperture without the need to put it in portrait mode. Photos of flowers really showed off the hues and saturation, while my landscape shots give us a good idea of it’s HDR abilities. But some of my photos in the bright sun felt washed out, and lacked that saturation I’m so familiar with from Samsung phones. One of my photos from this test on the Flip5 was also voted as a finalist for a chance to be featured on Conde Nast Traveler, so that’s pretty awesome.

The punch hole camera on the folding display is better than the Fold5's UDC, so if you’re planning to do video calls, this’ll give you a better image. The importance of having a good selfie camera is a hill I will gladly die on - there’s a lot of folks in this world who won’t take the additional steps to use rear facing cameras for selfies, are content creators, or need a decent camera for video conferencing, and having an optimal camera on a $1000+ smartphone should be standard.

I also recorded a bunch of videos for you to check out the audio and stabilization - let’s take a look.

[ throw to videos ]

This phone shines for portability, quick access to info, and as a social media device. The screens proportionally aren’t perfect for entertainment, and the battery could be better. Neither of Samsung’s foldables has cameras that match the quality of the S23 line, though in some cases you’re paying more for the form factor.

I love this form factor, it feels like it’s made for me and my smaller size hands. It’s still missing the prosumer features that I use daily as a content creator (mainly the highest quality cameras), but it’s so fun to use. I think any non-content creator would love this device, especially if you want something smaller. And paying 1 grand MSRP vs the 2k fold 5 is a huuuuge difference, especially if you factor in trade ins, carrier deals, or holiday discounts.

Do you want to see deeper comparisons of this phone vs any other ones? Leave a comment. Thanks again for subscribing and to DeleteMe for partnering! Bye yall!