Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Hands-On: A Bigger Screen Goes a Long Way
Foldable Phones
Speaker 1: Samsung just announced the Galaxy Z Flip five, its newest flip phone. The Z flip five starts at $1,000 and launches on August 11th. There are quite a few things that are new on this year's model compared to last year, but the new cover screen is the most obvious change. Samsung is also using a new hinge that eliminates the gap, allowing the phone to close completely shut. I had a few minutes to play with the Z flip five, and it seems like Samsung's flip phone is moving in the right direction. But before we dive deeper [00:00:30] into my impressions, let's take a closer look at what's new. Starting with that cover screen, which Samsung is now calling Flex Window, it measures 3.4 inches making it much larger than the 1.9 inch screen on the Galaxy Z flip four, but still slightly smaller than the Motorola Razor Plus's 3.6 inch screen.
Speaker 1: There are a ton of widgets on this cover screen for things like checking the weather, viewing your calendar, accessing your favorite contact, setting a timer and more. The other major difference in terms of [00:01:00] how the Z flip looks and feels is its new hinge. Samsung is introducing the flex hinge, which allows the phone to fold completely flat when closed. There are also fewer moving parts in the new hinge, which should make the Z flip five more durable. The ability to fold completely shut with no gap is another trait we've seen on the Razor plus that I'm happy to see. On the Z flip five. The Galaxy Z flip five has a 12 megapixel wide and ultra wide camera, just like last year's phone since the Galaxy Z Flip five runs on the new Qualcomm [00:01:30] Snapdragon eight gen two for Galaxy processor. We should also see some other image processing enhancements, including a CRISPR digital Zoom.
Speaker 1: That's the same chip that powers the Galaxy S 23 series. And during my time testing those phones, I found that the processor really did deliver some improvements in terms of photography and battery life. So I'm hoping to see the same on the Z flip five, but it's really the larger cover screen that's going to make the Z flip five feel like a step forward. As I mentioned in my Motorola Razor Plus review, [00:02:00] having a bigger external screen just opens up new use cases for these phones. For example, when I reviewed Motorola's phone, I enjoyed using Spotify on the cover screen with the phone propped open halfway, like a tent that made it feel kind of like a mini smart display, which is pretty cool. I haven't had a ton of time with the Z flip five yet, but apps and widgets seem to run smoothly so far.
Speaker 1: I was able to type scroll through Google Maps and even watch the Barbie movie trailer on YouTube without opening the phone, which is much [00:02:30] more than I could say for the Z flip four. That said, you can also do all of those things on the Razor Plus. So Samsung isn't necessarily first. The keyboard also does feel a little cramped compared to the main screen on the inside of the phone since the display is smaller. But I'll know more once I've spent more time with the phone while using an app on the cover screen. You can also open the phone to continue using that app on the bigger screen inside the phone, but this doesn't work the other way around like it does on the Razor. Plus, I also noticed that the crease feels [00:03:00] a little less noticeable on the Z flip five compared to the Z flip four.
Speaker 1: While it's definitely still there, it feels a little flatter under my finger when swiping and scrolling. The software experience is largely the same as the Galaxy Z flip four, but Samsung is adding some more integrations with the Galaxy Watch six. When you bend the Galaxy Z flip five halfway to put it in flex mode, the camera controller app will automatically pop up on the Galaxy Watch six's clock face. Overall, the Galaxy Z Flip five feels like an evolution of [00:03:30] Samsung's previous flip phone. The bigger screen is much appreciated, and I am really hoping that the new Qualcomm chip brings the same improvements to battery life and camera quality that we saw with the Galaxy S 23 series. All of these things combined could make the Z flip five easier to recommend, but $1,000 is still expensive for a new phone, and at the end of the day, you're still paying a premium for a phone that folds in half. Whether it will be better than the Razor plus remains to be seen. We'll know more after we've had a chance to fully review the Galaxy Z flip five. [00:04:00] So what do you think of the Z flip five? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to follow CNET for more Samsung coverage, including our written story, which has more thoughts and impressions. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time. <silence>.
