Even though Samsung is already on the 5th iteration of their foldable devices, they’re still managing to keep people intrigued. So much so that other companies have begun to enter the playing field in a pretty big way. With companies like Oppo, Huawei and Google entering the fray, is the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 still good enough to call itself the king of the foldables?
Let’s find out.
I’ve been lucky enough to use the Samsung Galaxy Fold 5 as my personal phone for almost three months now. From payments to business to gaming to accidentally dropping the phone but then justifying it by saying to myself: “It’s all part of strength testing”. If you were wondering, the phone survived quite well, with just a few bumps on one corner.
If you’ve read my previous review of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4, you would’ve seen that I enjoyed quite a few things about the phone and very few that I didn’t. The first of the issues that I had was that the front screen, or outer screen, was way too narrow, or at least, it felt that way. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is precisely the same width as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 at 67.1mm; however, this time around, I was able to get the hang of the keyboard a lot quicker. It may be due to my practice on the previous generation phone, but it’s worth noting that this screen is narrow and will still take some time to get used to for new users. You might be thinking that it would be less of an issue, considering there is a whole 129.9mm of screen to use on the inside, but, probably around 90% of the time, I found myself using the outside screen because of the convenience of not having to open the phone all the time.
The second issue was its chunkiness. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is two phones thick when closed. This still makes it a hefty piece of machinery to use even if it’s 10g lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, at 253g, but after just a couple of days, I got used to it. I will say, though, that every regular phone I use now does feel too light, and I worry it might just start floating out of my hand.
One of the most significant improvements over the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is that Samsung has managed to eliminate the gap completely. A technological marvel that we can have a screen that folds flat onto itself, I think, is one of the biggest contributing factors to having the phone feel more “normal” when closed. Thanks to this ability, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a whole 2.4mm slimmer. It might not seem like it impacts the phone that much on a basic level, but subconsciously, it plays a big part, and it takes us another step closer to getting that elusive dust rating that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold range has been missing. This new hinge technology doesn’t change anything about the fold down the middle of the screen, though. It’s still there to be seen and felt, just as much as it was before.
Everything else I enjoyed about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 kept me just as satisfied with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, if not more so. The camera takes some of the most outstanding photos, as it should. Packing a 50 MP wide-angle lens, a 10 MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and a 12 MP ultrawide lens on the back of the phone, there’s not much you can’t take great photos of. Videos can be recorded in 8K resolution at 30fps or 4K resolution at 60fps. Both selfie cameras take great pictures in good lighting and can push out 4K video at 30FPS. The battery gets me through a full day exceptionally easily. Most days end with 40% to 50% charge left unless I’ve been grinding out some games, which are also great to play on the double-wide screen. In fact, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold range of devices remains my ultimate gaming phone. The extra real estate you get with the internal screen is unbeatable, and considering it pushes out 120hz at 60fps, the visual experience is almost flawless. The multitasking features are second to none, and a few times, I’ve been caught out at an event, needing to work between emails and websites and messages, and this can all be done simultaneously when the phone is opened, which is honestly incredible.
Still, even with all of this unique technology in my hand, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 didn’t feel like it impressed me as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 did.
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 improves on almost everything that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 was, but it feels like a slight upgrade. And when you start to think about other factors like the price tag and, like I mentioned before, the other companies starting to enter the market, Samsung will need to do more if it hopes to keep its foldable crown with its next-generation Fold.
With a starting price of almost R46,000, you have to really, I mean really, want the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 as your everyday phone, and with other flagship phones like the S23 Ultra coming in at R10,000 cheaper, with a slightly better camera suite, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts to lose the little bit of that grip that it might’ve had on you.
If you’re an on-the-go businessman looking for a “PC in your pocket”, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is probably the best mobile device for that purpose, but there are more options to consider now, not only in the form of regular slab phones but also from other foldables in the market.
Don’t get me wrong, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a fantastic piece of technology and a remarkable phone all around, but it feels more like a very specific device for a very specific person and the flair and wonder that I had from the previous generation seems to be wearing off.