Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: the Cover Display's big 'Flex'
Our Galaxy Z Flip review shows how Samsung's coolest phone got thinner and more robust in all of the right places
Don’t let the throwback design fool you. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the newest clamshell-style smartphone that will wow you with its bendable screen technology, extremely compact size and, as of this year, large front Cover Display dubbed a “Flex Window.” And… it’s quite a flex.
I spent more than two weeks testing the new Z Flip 5 for review (and the Fold 5 and Watch 6). I enjoy the Fold 5 for productivity, but I can’t seem to put down its stylish and more compact counterpart, as you can see from my full Z Flip 5 analysis below.
It’s Samsung’s coolest phone you can buy today, even if my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review shows more love for its larger counterpart’s productivity features and S Pen.
The best part is, the Flip is now in stock with solid trade-in deals to bring down that $999 price.
🛍️ Where to buy the Flip 5 at the best price
📱Up to $600 off Galaxy Z Fold 5 + free 512GB upgrade ($100 value)
📱Up to $650 off Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra + Free Keyboard Cover Slim
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Moto Razr+
Samsung has one more thing this year that’s brand: fresh competition. Moto Razr+, which launched with a similar design this summer, kept Samsung on its toes.
So while the 3.4-inch front screen is a significant upgrade over the sliver of a screen found on the front of the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Motorola offers a very similar design perk. The good news for Samsung is that, for the most part, the Z Flip 5 has answers for its chief flip phone rival with a better quality large Cover Display, brighter display, superior cameras and better software transitions between its two screens. Moto mostly has Razr nostalgia going for it.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review
Pros
✅ 📐 Large front Cover Display feels like a huge improvement
✅ 😎 Fashionably compact design that closes in half completely
✅ 🤳 Fun-to-capture table-top selfies at varying angles like 90°
✅ 🗄️ Starts at 256GB, doubling last year’s storage capacity
Cons
❌ 📸 Cameras sensors haven’t improved over the Z Flip 4
❌ 🔢 Cover Display limited to pre-set widgets & apps by default
❌ 📝 It’s 2023! Give me my phone-only Samsung Notes anytime, anywhere
Review score: 4 out of 5 🏆
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: best features
📺 Big Cover Display cometh. The 3.4-inch Cover Display of this compact Samsung phone finally does exactly what its name describes: it covers almost the entire front display. I was able to frame selfies and browse certain apps without squinting at the old 1.9-inch display of the Z Flip 4. This is an unsurprising evolution of the Flip series I saw coming two years ago, but still a welcomed improvement.
💰 Pretty good trade-in offers. If $999 sounds tough to swallow, hold up. Samsung offered solid trade-in values at pre-order, and while those specific deals did expire at launch, you can still upgrade to the Z Flip 5 for as low as $399 today.
🗄️ Goodbye 128GB, hello 256GB. There’s no 128GB version of the Z Flip 5, meaning it starts at 256GB of storage. There’s also a 512GB Z Flip 5 and the Samsung Store offered it price of the 256GB edition during the pre-order, but that deal has expired.
🤏 Don’t mind the lack of a gap. A small, but meaningful change is that the Z Flip 5 does fold completely in half this time vs the Flip 4. The inside screen dimensions are the same, but the gap-less design, like on the Z Fold 5, is a nice perk.
Why trust my Galaxy Z Flip 5 review
🧪 I’ve reviewed or tested every Samsung foldable phone for TechRadar or The Shortcut, and I continue to admire the flip phone five generations later. I tested the Z Flip 5 for review for two weeks. I also tested the similar Moto Razr+ for a fair review comparison. I like the productivity-focused Z Fold 5 a bit better for my own needs, but at times, I appreciate the more-stylish, extra-compact Z Flip 5 and its convenient tabletop-selfie-taking design.
Design
👀 See the differences below. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 (left) and Galaxy Z Flip 4 (right) show the impact of a tighter hinge and gap-less design when folded in half.
📐 Hinge is finally a match. The spine of the Z Flip 5 is a bit smaller and there’s no more air gap when the Z Flip 5 screen is folded in half. Truthfully, the Flip 1 through 4 design quirk didn’t bother me much, but using the Flip 5 for two weeks gave me a new appreciation for the tighter design Samsung has achieved.
👖 Fits tight jeans. Pockets rejoice! Z Flip 5’s compact design is ideal for the tightest jeans I own (yes, I even tested the wash-shrunken jeans I never wear out in public anymore). This YoY change in actual dimensions isn’t dramatic, but it’s a step in the right direction for foldable phones and the seams of my pants.
🙌 One-hand-friendly size. This is the biggest reason to buy the Flip 5 over the Fold 5 (though I like the Fold 5 better myself). The dual-screen smartphone is pretty easy to operate, closed or open, and it’s possible to pry it open with one hand.
Camera review
Main 12MP camera selfies are superb
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 was the best phone to capture The Shortcut’s Kevin Lee and his first-ever visit to Olive Garden. Here’s why:
👑 True selfie camera king. I had a blast snapping photos with the Z Flip 5 because it lends itself to capturing easy selfies. Angle the phone 90° and it becomes a tripod-eliminating tabletop selfie machine.
🆚 Better than Fold 5? In some ways, yes. The Z Flip 5 camera sensors are smaller, but its square-ish design (when bent at 90°) makes it more practical to frame photos. Doing the same with the elongated Z Fold 5 screen projects a smaller preview image.
Tabletop selfies
🤳 Let me go on about selfies. Indulge me: the Samsung app makes it so easy to snap a group photo with the ability to trigger a selfie timer via a hand gesture (Apple, please copy this) and flip between the front and back cameras with a swipe up and or down anywhere on the screen (Apple, please copy this). And the camera app can be launched with a double tap of the physical power button (Apple, please copy this).
10MP selfies: mediocre by comparison
😬 The 10MP selfie camera is meh. The 10MP selfie camera atop the 6.7-inch screen is… mediocre. But rotate that bad boy around and the Flex Window also shows you a preview. The phone captures much better 12MP wide and ultrawide photos this way. These are technically the superior “rear” cameras, but you can use them as if they were selfie cameras (aren’t foldables great?).
12MP ultrawide photos
😬 Ultrawide for a bit more and a bit less. You get a bit more in the shot from the “rear” Z Flip 5 ultrawide camera (also 12MP), but you can see it’s softer in quality at night. I love ultra-wide selfies that do a better job telling the world where you’re at and who you’re with, but it’s always a slight downgrade from the main camera.
🧠 Pro tip on Samsung ultra-wide photos. Ultrawide photos on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 camera are a lot better for landscape shots rather than people. That’s because, with a 123° field of view, the edges look a bit stretched. That can cause awkward distortion in selfies (and especially the person holding the phone with their arm). Center your subjects or stick to photos of landscapes with the Flip 5 (or any smartphone).
Zoom test
🔭 Digital zoom does a decent job. You can see that the purely digital zoom here is OK for something without a proper telephoto lens. It breaks up at 10x zoom, though. The quality was close to that of the Google Pixel 7 and Google Pixel 7a in my tests.
🥇 Opt for the S23 Ultra if you want good zoom. Samsung’s S23 Ultra has a 100x “Space Zoom,” beating all of its rivals in the US, including Apple. So if you want to punch in, spend the extra $200 to get the Ultra. Samsung won’t mind.
More 12MP photos
📸 Camera quality is the same YoY. The one downside is that the camera quality hasn’t really improved over last year’s model. It’s good as you can see from my photo samples, but compared to the S23 Ultra, an additional $200 MSRP will get you the best camera quality from Samsung and a built-in S Pen. One note: you may find subtle improvements from the Z Flip 4, and you can chalk that up to the post-processing using the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset vs the Gen 1.
Battery life
🔋 Battery life explained. The 3,700mAh battery is the same as last year’s phone – just enough to get you through a normal day. However, you may see rundown time tests that claim the battery life has improved: it has, according to my own tests! …on the inner screen. That’s half of the story. This is likely because of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 efficiency. However, in real life, the expanded Cover Display with more pixels will burn faster. So… it’s a wash.
🔌 Wired charging could be faster. I really dig Samsung’s S23 Ultra for its 45W wired charging capability (it goes from 0% to 65% in 30 minutes, beating my iPhone 14 Pro Max by 15%). The Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 are capped at 25W charging speeds (same as the iPhone). I’m sure price and size were factors. Good, but not the best.
⚡ Wireless charging win. The fact that wireless charging and reverse wireless charging (where you stick an earbuds case or watch on the back to slowly get a battery life boost) exist on foldable phones is a technological marvel. It’s still the standard 15W wireless charging, but that’s the speed with any Qi charger. The iPhone requires a MagSafe wireless charger for 15W and doesn’t do reverse wireless charging. All other Qi chargers using an iPhone are 7.5W.
Durability
🪨 Durability down to the hinge. Here’s another revamped hinge perk: there are fewer moving parts on the inside and everything feels more durable. And while it has only been two weeks, I’ve tested the Fold 4 for a year now, and that has held up. If you’ve been skipping foldable phones for fear of durability, now is the time to try one.
💦⏳ Ready for water, not sand. For the third year in a row, we get an IPX8 rating, meaning the Z Flip 5 is water-resistant. But I wouldn’t take it to the beach without caution. The bendable screen element now closes tight, but fine-grain sand remains the mortal enemy of all foldables.
🪛 Flip 5 teardown. I’m updating this Flip 5 review as I just spotted a teardown video on YouTube that suggests this new phone is much easier to repair than the Flip 4. Samsung made some parts easier to swap. This is a good sign (even if I don’t suggest repairing this phone yourself if you’re a novice) of the progress being made on foldable phones among right-to-repair advocates.
Flip 5 colors
🌈 Fun colors. It comes in Mint, Cream, Lavender and Graphite, but some fun colors are exclusive to Samsung’s own store (not carriers). Yellow, Green, Blue and Gray. I enjoyed seeing yellow and mint if you’re looking for something that stands out on a foldable phone that’s already eye-catching. This one has style in spades.
🎨 No bespoke colors. There’s a good reason you can’t mix and match front and back colors…. that giant cover display on the front kind of makes that moot. There’s no color on the front. I saw other publications criticize Samsung for the lack of bespoke colors and my reaction was “What do you want? More bezel?!” 🤨
Display
🪟 ‘Flex Window’ into your phone’s soul. The Flip 5 can not only flex at 90° (ideal for tabletop selfies), its new 3.4-inch Cover Display offers a window into the bigger 6.7-inch display, hence the new “Window” moniker. Quick access to calendar, dialer, weather and alarms is a nice perk – but the selfie viewfinder is its most practical use.
🤔 Cover Display limited by default. In a strange move, Samsung hid the ability to use any app on the Cover Display. You can enable a few more in the “labs” section of the advance features menu, but it only adds Google Maps, Messages, Netflix and YouTube. Smart folks like YouTuber Jonathan Casey found a way to get more apps on the cover: you’ll have to download Good Lock, a third-party launcher. Odd choice by Samsung, but an easy workaround.
💡 Light bright. Flip 5 more than doubles the peak brightness of the Flip 4 (1,600 vs 1,200 nits), and that’s important because I found having a legible Flex Window is a must for glancing at widgets and snapping selfies in sunny outdoor conditions.
🤷♂️ Crease still exists but it’s N.B.D. Beyond the first-gen foldables, the crease hasn’t bothered me. It’ll be great when Samsung (or Apple) comes out with a no-crease design one day, but in 2023, the look and feel here are acceptable.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 specs
📆 Release date: August 11, 2023
💰 Price: $999 (check out launch day deals)
📺 Screen sizes: 6.7-inch inner screen / 3.4-inch Cover Display
🖥️ Resolution: 2,640 x 1,080 Full HD+ / 720 x 748
🏃♂️ Refresh rate: 120Hz adaptive / 60Hz
💡 Brightness: 1,600 nits (peak brightness)
📸 Main camera: 12MP
📸 Ultrawide camera: 12MP
🤳 Cover camera: 10MP
⚙️ Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
🐏 RAM: 8GB
🗄️ Storage: 256GB / 512GB
🔈 Speakers: stereo (and no headphone jack)
🔋 Battery: 3,700mAh
🔌 Wired Charging: 25W (adapter not included)
⚡ Wireless Charging: Yes
📶 Connectivity: 5G sub6 and mmWave, WiFi 6e
👇 Fingerprint sensor: Yes (side button)
📐 Dimensions: 3.35 x 2.83 x .59in (folded) / 6.5 x 2.83 x .27in (unfolded)
⚖️ Weight: 187g (6.6oz)
🌈 Colors: Mint, Cream, Lavender, Graphite (Samsung-exclusive colors: Yellow, Gray, Blue, Green)
🤖 OS: Android 13
🪨 Durability: Armor Aluminum frame, Corning Gorilla Victus 2
♻️ Recycled parts: aluminum, glass, plastic
💦 Waterproof: IPX8
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 performance
🐉 Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip upgrade. Qualcomm’s latest speedy and efficient chip is at the core of Samsung’s Z Flip 5 (same as the S23 Ultra). It’s a step up over Moto Razr+’s Gen 1 and a big leap ahead of the Google Pixel Fold’s Tensor G2 chip.
🎮 Snappy gaming. The Flip 5 can handle intense 3D games from a performance standpoint, though I prefer the Fold 5’s bigger screen for gaming. Good news: the tall inner screen of the Flip 5 has an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate that didn’t stutter in my gaming tests. I’d love to see Samsung offer simple puzzle games on the Cover Display like Moto did – something to make waiting in line at a restaurant more bearable.
🗄️ 256GB or 512GB. There’s no Galaxy Z Flip 5 1TB version, which I don’t think is needed for most people who opt for this phone over the Fold 5. I’m just happy to see Samsung did away with the 128GB configuration this year, fitting into modern times.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 ecosystem
📝 Better, but needs attention. I’ve written a lot about Samsung’s software. It’s gotten better, but my No. 1 ask remains: give me Samsung Notes anywhere including a Mac (via the web or a Chrome extension). There’s no reason my notes should be locked to my phone and the only-recently-not-broken-anymore Windows app. This isn’t the 90s, Samsung. Platform wars are dead. Long live anywhere, anytime.
🖋️ Does the Z Flip 5 use an S Pen? No, that’s limited to the S23 Ultra (built-in) or the Z Fold 5 (when you purchase the new S Pen case or Fold Edition S Pen separately). I don’t forsee the stylus coming to this compact design any time soon.
💬 No blue bubbles for you. Apple’s not offering iMessage for Android, and that’s an issue for users in the US. However, solutions like BlueBubbles, Sunbird (waitlist) and Beeper (waitlist; from the founder of the Pebble Watch) are workaround apps people are using to (nearly) properly communicate with their iPhone friends and family while using an Android.
Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5?
If you still haven’t decided, let me basically tell you if you should get it:
Yes, if…
✅ You want the most stylish flip phone with great cameras (sorry, Moto)
✅ You have an older phone to take advantage of this year’s trade-in deals
✅ You avoided prior foldables due to the hinge durability (now’s a good time)