Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Review: Formidable Foldable That Builds On Its Predecessor

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a folding maverick, marking the company's fifth foldable in the square screen form-factor that doubles as a slate smartphone on the front. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 may be what makes you finally consider a foldable device (or not) - keep reading to help with your decision.

In many ways, foldables still haven't managed to retain the trust of users - there's the crease problem, the issue with how hefty it feels in your hands and pocket, and the lack of optimisation for foldables in general. Samsung seems to have made strides in these departments in many ways. In this review, I talk about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5's use value, its displays, cameras, and performance.

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Design and use value

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 sports two screens - a 7.6-inch (1812 x 2176p) main screen with Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and a 6.2-inch (904 x 2316p) HD+ display. Both screens come with an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz. When folded, the smartphone has dimensions of 67.1 x 154.9 x 13.4mm vs 129.9x 154.9 x 6.1mm when unfolded and it weighs 253g - essentially making it a lighter and slimmer version of its predecessor.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review: All About The Tiny Upgrades

What do these numbers mean in practice? Honestly, it's not an easy-to-use device due to many reasons, especially for first time folders (can we call them that, yet?) The sheer heftiness of the device might put some users off - if you like sturdy and easy-to-carry devices and still want a foldable experience, opt for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 instead. And if you're going to just use the outer display, perhaps you should stick to slate phones and invest in the S23 series instead. But if your primary usage revolves around the main screen, a new world suddenly opens up - with so much screen surface. And they said that phablets were dead!

Also read: Samsung Galaxy F54 5G Review: Solid Mid-Range Device That Gets Most Things Right

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Don't let the unusual form fool you - apps are beautiful to use on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5's main screen. Although reaching to the top of some apps might be troublesome for many. And if you like to use your device while lying down in bed on the side, the Fold 5 is going to be cumbersome when unfolded. Regardless, the beautiful and bright display makes up for a lot of these issues that are honestly a given with this design. Once you get used to the device, a slate smartphone might feel like a downgrade in terms of the experience.

What's with the crease? In the previous generations, the crease was noticeable, and don't get me wrong - it still is, but barely. When you use the device, it enmeshes with the visual aspects without interruption and doesn't get in the way of your HD exploits on the device. So, don't worry about that crease. And the hinge gap everyone complained about? It's gone for good (mostly)!

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 feels study to hold and premium to the touch due to its Armor Aluminum material and Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The triple-rear camera set up is built into a pill, unlike the S23 series. It also has the IPX8 rating for water resistance and support for stylus.

Display

The cover screen is not my favourite. With a strange aspect ratio of 23:1:9, it can be a weird experience for many first time Fold users, and makes reaching to the top a task. Regardless, the cover display is as vivid and bright as it gets. Even then, I preferred using the main screen.

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If your primary consumption is videos and games, the main screen is going to have you hooked. It's a fun experience for quick games like Asphalt series and heavyweights like BGMI; and for your Netflix needs - with peak brightness of 1750 nits - allowing you to watch content in the most bright settings.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. In many ways, it felt like a PC in my pockets, even if not completely capable of replacing a PC experience. The processor keeps the phone fast, responsive, and lag-free - with nothing to worry about in the speed department.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S23 Review: A Harmonious Blend Of Style And Performance

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The main screen actually triumphs when you realise its multi-tasking potential. I actually enjoyed writing on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the keyboard layout (once you get used to it) is a smartphone writer's dream come true, all because of the giant screen and the fast processing. I was able to open three apps on the screen seamlessly side by side.

In Flex Mode (essentially the phone folded halfway), the device operates like a laptop with the bottom half as a keyboard and the top half as your main screen. And it has additional uses as a tool centre for pictures as well. In essence, a solid performance made possible by Samsung's One UI 5.1.

Cameras

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with a 50 megapixel wide lens, a 10 megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12 megapixel ultrawide camera on the back. The device also sports a 10 megapixel selfie camera on the cover screen and a 4 megapixel under-display camera on the main screen.

The cameras are carried forward from the last year's model with no changes. This doesn't mean the cameras are lackluster - the pictures are still great in daylight and at night, but a constant problem that seems to plague the cameras is about loss of detail and over saturation, the latter not being a surprise on Samsung devices.

In terms of selfies - yikes! The under-display camera on the main screen is not good at all, which takes the joy out of selfies clicked on the main screen. The cover display selfie camera gets the job done, though.

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Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with a 4400 mAh battery. In essence, you should be able to get a day worth of usage with moderate use. Even if you use the device extensively for gaming and more, you might have to charge it twice, but that can be carried over to the next day, making it a good choice in terms of battery performance.

Also read: Everything About Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Screams 'Extra' And Rightly So!

I'm tired of saying this while reviewing Samsung devices but the slow charging speed of 25W is a pain and your device will take more than an hour to fully charge.

Verdict

If you're looking for a well-rounded foldable in 2023, the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 is a solid choice - with two beautiful displays, good cameras and battery, and a really impressive multitasking performance. Even then, the Fold 5 is a really expensive phone - starting at a price of ?1,54,999 for the 256GB and 12GB variant. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.