Samsung Z Flip 5/Z Fold 5 Hands-on Overview This time I chose a trendy small folding phone!

Samsung Z Flip 5/Z Fold 5 - A hands-on overview of a trendy small folding phone

Since the launch of the first foldable screen phone in 2019, Samsung has completed the layout of foldable screen phones by adopting the Z Fold series with horizontal folding and the Z Flip series with vertical folding. Different users can also choose foldable screen phones that are more suitable for their daily use scenarios.

Samsung Z Fold5 and Samsung Z Flip5

In July 2023, Samsung chose to launch the latest generation of foldable screen phones, the Samsung Z Flip5 and Samsung Z Fold5, in its home country of South Korea. This year, both models of foldable screens continue the previous designs of horizontal and vertical folding, and further enhance the user experience of foldable screen phones by incorporating multiple new technologies.

The Samsung Z Flip series is known for its compact and delicate design, and previous Flip models have captured the hearts of many users with their stylish and cute appearance. Among the two foldable screen phones this year, the Samsung Z Flip5 has undergone the biggest changes. While maintaining the classic flip design, it significantly improves the usability of the external screen by adopting a larger size.

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The Samsung Z Flip5 has a large external screen

In terms of appearance, this external screen adopts a “folder” design, which harmonizes well with the adjacent dual cameras. The size of this screen is 3.4 inches, with a refresh rate of 60Hz, a resolution of 720×748, and a PPI of 306. From the specifications, this screen can provide sufficiently detailed images.

The external screen of the Samsung Z Flip5 supports a full keyboard

In addition, thanks to the larger screen, the external screen of the Samsung Z Flip5 has more diverse usage scenarios. When displaying weather and time, the large screen can show richer content, and some content can even be viewed without scrolling. At the same time, the large screen also provides enough space for a “full keyboard”, significantly improving the efficiency of replying to messages through the external screen.

Taking photos with the external screen

As for the function of taking photos with the external screen, it also provides a better experience with the help of the large-sized external screen. The external screen of the Samsung Z Flip5 can better display the position of people in the frame. With the 12 million pixel dual camera, it can also capture desired images in different modes such as normal/portrait.

Samsung Z Flip5

Overall, the significant upgrade of the external screen by Samsung this year makes the Z Flip5 a device worth upgrading to. Now, using the external screen of the Samsung Z Flip5 for simple operations will be more efficient, and the design with a high screen-to-body ratio after folding also looks more elegant. Of course, I also hope that Samsung can open up more interfaces later, allowing developers to make better use of this external screen and make their own applications more user-friendly, which can further increase the utilization rate of the external screen.

Samsung Z Flip5

In addition to the external screen, the hinge of the Samsung Z Flip5 has also been improved. Previously, the Samsung Z Flip series had obvious gaps at the hinge when folded, but this year, through the upgrade of the hinge, the Samsung Z Flip5 has achieved a seamless design. It also controls the folding thickness at 15.1mm, the thickness of the unfolded body at 6.9mm, and the weight at 187g, still maintaining its familiar “compact and delicate” nature, still being a classic “one-hand control”.

The Samsung Z Flip5 is still compact and exquisite, and can easily fit in your pocket.

In terms of hardware, the Samsung Z Flip5 adopts the leading second-generation Snapdragon 8 mobile platform (for Galaxy), which has been recognized by many consumers. Its powerful performance ensures users get leading performance.

In terms of battery capacity, the Samsung Z Flip5 continues to use a 3700mAh dual-cell battery, paired with a 25W or higher specification charger and a 3A USB-C data cable. It only takes half an hour to charge the battery from zero to 50%.

Currently, most horizontally folding foldable screen phones on the market have formed a fixed design concept, which is to meet daily one-handed use through an external screen, and then a large-sized folding screen to meet more diverse productivity needs.

Samsung Z Fold5

“Hinge” is one of the key elements in foldable screen phones. This year, the upgrade of the hinge on the Samsung Z Fold5 has made it a more mature foldable screen phone. With the new water droplet-shaped hinge design, there are no gaps when the Samsung Z Fold5 is folded, making the appearance more flat. And with the hover design, it can meet various usage needs.

Samsung Z Fold5

“Hovering hinge” has become a feature of Samsung’s foldable screens, and in the iterative update process, Samsung has also designed various functions for the hovering hinge. Now, for example, when taking photos or watching videos, the hovering hinge can fix the device in a certain position, completely freeing up both hands. In terms of specifications, the basic parameters of the Samsung Z Fold5 are similar to the previous Samsung Z Fold4. It has a 23.1:9 6.2-inch screen on the outside and a large 7.6-inch AMOLED screen on the inside. The under-display camera is also located in the top right corner. In terms of details, the Samsung Z Fold5 has further improved the screen brightness compared to the previous generation. Its maximum brightness reaches 1200 nits globally. It seems that Samsung, as a major screen manufacturer, has never stopped in improving the quality of foldable screens.

As the “big foldable” mentioned by people, the Samsung Z Fold5 also considers the necessity of “slimming down”. This year, Samsung has reduced the weight of the Z Fold5 to 253g, a decrease of 10g compared to the previous generation, further reducing the burden of long-term holding. Similarly, as a heavyweight flagship in the foldable screen field, Samsung has also put all the powerful hardware into this Z Fold5. It is equipped with the leading Snapdragon 8 (for Galaxy) second-generation chipset, with performance ranking among the top tier. In addition, the Samsung Z Fold5 also incorporates a large area of heat dissipation module internally, providing strong heat dissipation support for long-term gaming and movie watching.

The Samsung Z Fold5 is equipped with a rear triple camera.

“Imaging” is also a key aspect of foldable screen phones. This time, the Samsung Z Fold5 adopts a combination of a 12 million pixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 50 million pixel main camera, and a 10 million pixel telephoto lens (3X optical). The main camera supports full-pixel dual-core focusing and has a large aperture of F1.8, which also belongs to the familiar Samsung style in terms of shooting experience.

Another “perfect match” for the Samsung Z Fold5 is the S Pen. The design of this year’s S Pen has not changed much, but through the introduction of a new design, it can be better stored when used with a protective case, and the design of easy access also facilitates a more natural user experience for each user.

Since the release of the Samsung Galaxy Fold in 2019, Samsung has launched five generations of foldable screen phones. In the process of continuous iteration, Samsung has also met the daily usage needs of different consumers through different foldable screen forms. This year’s Samsung Z Flip5 continues the compact and stylish design while improving the efficiency of the external screen with a larger size, and through the new hinge, it achieves a seamless folding screen, further adding to the texture. The Samsung Z Fold5 combines the experience of smartphones and tablets and through the upgraded screen and hinge, we can see Samsung’s thoughts on the “2023 foldable screen flagship”.

Nowadays foldable screens have become quite mature, and various companies have shown many achievements in the field of foldable screens. Whether Samsung’s two foldable flagship models this year can gain more recognition from consumers still requires time to give us the answer.

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