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Samsung Unpacked has just wrapped up, and just like the rumor mill predicted, Samsung has revealed new Android tablets, smartwatches, and most critically, foldables. Samsung has been at the forefront of foldable smartphones for the last several years, but it will have competition in 2023 with Motorola, Google, and OnePlus releasing new devices. Lucky for Samsung, the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 make some subtle yet important changes.
Just like the last few cycles, Samsung has a flip phone-style foldable (the Z Flip 5) and a tablet-style foldable (the Z Fold 5). The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is Samsung’s new powerhouse multitasking phone. This device has a 6.2-inch 2,316 x 904 OLED on the front, and when opened, you get a 7.6-inch 2,176 x 1,812 foldable OLED. Both screens support 120Hz refresh rates, and the internal one works with the S Pen stylus.
Credit: Samsung
All of Samsung’s past tablet-style foldables have been bulky, and that’s still true of the Z Fold 5. However, Samsung is making progress. The new “Flex Hinge” lets the phone close completely flat like the Google Pixel Fold. Previous Samsung foldables tapered toward the hinge, which was several millimeters wider than the rest of the phone when closed. Shaving a few millimeters off the body might not sound like a big deal, but Samsung contends that any slimming of foldables is a herculean engineering effort. Having used the Pixel Fold’s fiddly hinge, I’d have to agree.
The Z Flip 5 has evolved along the same lines as Motorola’s recently released Razr Plus. Instead of the compact cover screen of the Flip 4, this phone has an expansive screen on the outside that Samsung has dubbed the Flex Window. It measures 3.4 inches diagonal and 720 x 748 in resolution. There’s a small cutout to make room for the cameras, but it still takes up almost the entire face of the phone. Inside, the Flip 5 has a folding 6.7-inch 1080p OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate.
The appeal of modern flip phones is the same as the flip phones of 20 years ago: they’re tiny and easy to pocket. This phone has the same Flex Hinge as the Z Fold 5, so it too is thinner on the hinge side, making it even more pocketable.
Credit: Samsung
Both phones come with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with a Samsung-exclusive speed boost, just like the Galaxy S23 family. The Flip 5 has 8GB of RAM and either 256 or 512GB of storage, and the Fold 5 has 12GB of RAM with 256, 512, or 1TB of storage, depending on how much you want to spend. The rest of the specs are similar to last year. there’s a triple camera setup on the Fold 5, along with an external selfie cam and one inside under the foldable OLED. The Flip 5 has a dual-camera array and just one selfie camera. Don’t expect a big boost in battery life—the capacity hasn’t improved with the Fold 5 at 4,400mAh and the Flip 5 at 3,700mAh. There’s only so much you can do when the phone has to fold in half.
None of these improvements or compromises will matter if you’re not willing to pay Samsung’s hush asking price. The Flip 5 starts at $999.99, and the Fold 5 is a whopping $1,799.99. If you pre-order one of the phones, Samsung will give you enhanced trade-in credit for your old phone. That can shave up to $1,000 off the price of the Z Fold 5 and $900 off the Z Flip 5. You’ll have to have a recent device like last year’s foldables or an S23 Ultra to get that much, though.
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