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Short Summary
Main recommendation: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the best folding phone for most people right now, and the reviewer admits he was wrong to think Samsung had merely settled into its design. The upgrades that matter are the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, a hinge that folds completely flat, and a much larger 3.4-inch outside screen called the Flex Window, which makes the phone far more usable without opening it.
Key Points
- Chip: The Flip 5 uses an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the same chip as the Galaxy S23 and S23 Ultra, paired with 8 GB of RAM for responsive multitasking and gaming. Battery life did not clearly improve because the battery stays at 3,700 mAh while driving more pixels.
- Hinge: Samsung redesigned the hinge with fewer moving parts, a gentler wider radius, and a completely flat close with no gap, which is better for keeping dust and debris out, though the IPX8 rating still lacks an official dust rating.
- Outside screen: The cover display grows from about 1.9 inches to a 3.4-inch 720p square Flex Window with up to 11 pages of mini apps for notifications, calendar, and weather.
- Value: The phone starts at $1,000 with 256 GB of base storage, includes wireless charging and IPX8, and has a five-year security update window.
- Limitations: The crease is still visible when the screen is off or viewed off-axis, the outside screen is 720p at a fixed 60 Hz, and the reviewer suggests an LTPO display could help battery life.
Details Worth Noting
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Concrete instructions: To use the outside screen effectively, go through and clear notifications first thing in the morning, using the Flex Window for quick triage rather than opening the phone and risking doom scrolling. To run non-optimized apps on the outside, install Good Lock from the Galaxy Store along with its Multi Star extension, which adds a launcher for almost any app. Use the outside screen for quick tasks taking about two seconds, such as checking time, reading notifications, or pausing music, and open the phone for longer tasks like watching a Netflix documentary or writing an email.
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The official outside-screen lab settings enable only a few apps, including Maps, messaging apps, Netflix, and YouTube.
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The outside QWERTY keyboard technically works for texting, but the reviewer finds it too small for regular typing and suggests using quick replies or voice-to-text.
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Many apps look awkward in the square outside screen, so the reviewer does not recommend forcing every app there.
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The reviewer suggests that Samsung could improve the phone with a 1080p or higher outside display, an LTPO panel that can drop to 1 Hz for simple tasks, and possibly decks.
Bottom Line
The Z Flip 5 is a meaningful upgrade in usability and durability, not just a refinement, and it is the safest, easiest-to-recommend foldable available, especially if you value the bigger cover screen and long software support.
