Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and Fold5 Unveiled with Significant Enhancements

Samsung has unveiled its latest generation of foldable phones at an event in Seoul, South Korea. The Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 have been launched, featuring a new Flex Hinge, which Samsung asserts delivers an unmatched foldable experience.

With the Flip5, Samsung aims to compete with what rivals such as Motorola have brought to the market. The Flip5 now boasts a 3.4-inch outer cover screen, nearly twice the size of the Flip4. It is equipped with the special Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, customised by Qualcomm for Samsung, which was first introduced earlier in the year with the Galaxy S23 series. This same chip also powers the Galaxy Z Fold5.

The Galaxy Z Flip5 offers a starting storage capacity of 256GB and is priced from $999. The main screen is a 6.7-inch OLED panel with a 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, while the external panel, also OLED, has a 720p resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate. This external screen is now being rebranded as a flex display.

The flex display is smaller than that offered on the new Moto Razr, but it wraps around the dual camera array. The new teardrop-style hinge, now known as the Flex Hinge, leaves virtually no gap when folded, and the two sides of the phones close flat on both new devices.

Samsung asserts that the double rail design can also shield the devices from impacts when the phone is dropped. Consequently, the devices also come with IPX8 certification. This indicates that there is no dust protection, but Samsung does assert that this aspect of the phone has been significantly improved.

On the Flip5, all apps can now be run on the external display — this feature can be accessed via the Good Lock app. It also offers a full keyboard, enabling most phone functions to be performed with the screen closed. When unfolded, the phone is exceptionally slim at 6.9mm and weighs 187 grams.

The dual cameras remain the same 12-megapixel sensors with OIS — though Samsung has enhanced the lens coatings. There is a 10-megapixel selfie camera on the Flip5, which is the same as the previous model. Other unchanged aspects include the 3,700mAh battery with support for 25-watt wired and 15-watt wireless charging, and 8GB RAM.

In the case of the Fold5, both screens are AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate, but the inner screen is 7.6 inches and the external screen is 6.2 inches. The external screen has an HD+ resolution, while the inner screen has a resolution of 2176x1812 pixels.

The cameras are largely unchanged, with a 4-megapixel under-display front camera, a 50-megapixel wide-angle camera with OIS, a 12-megapixel camera for ultra-wide shots, and a 10-megapixel telephoto camera for zoom. This is not a hardware update, but the software and new chipset with its ISP should bring decent performance gains.

The battery size remains the same at 4,400mAh, which can be charged both wired and wirelessly. There is also support for wireless PowerShare.

The Fold also supports the S-Pen and starts with 256GB storage, going up to 1TB of storage. It also has 12GB RAM, which is more than the Flip. This may seem like a relatively modest update on paper, but the user experience could be dramatically improved, which is often the case with Samsung hardware.

Enhancements to the multiple window and app continuity experiences have been highlighted. There is a task bar, and drag and drop functionality has been further improved with optimisations for third-party apps. The writing experience with the S-Pen has also been refined. The Fold5 starts at $1800.

Both phones are available for pre-orders, but general availability will commence on 11th August. Samsung has also launched the new Galaxy watch and Galaxy S9 Ultra at the event. India prices for these products will be announced tomorrow.

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