The Galaxy Z Flip 5 Looks Chic With Its New Cover Display

The Galaxy Z Flip 5's biggest new feature is its cover screen, which now measures 3.4 inches compared to the Z Flip 4's 1.9-inch external display. 

The cover screen can run some apps, but it's primarily designed for widgets, which provide glanceable bits of information about the weather, calendar alerts, alarms and more. 

Flex Mode, which shifts apps to the top portion of the screen when folded halfway, is more or less the same on the Z Flip 5 as it was on last year's device. 

There's still a visible crease, but it does feel slightly more flat to the touch compared to the Z Flip 4's crease. 

The other major physical change is the Galaxy Z Flip 5's new hinge. There's virtually no gap when the device is closed. 

Samsung is calling this new hinge the Flex Hinge. 

This makes the Z Flip 5 feel sleeker when closed, although it's not as thin as the competing Motorola Razr Plus. 

Here's a shot of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 from the side. 

Between the new cover screen and hinge, Samsung seems to have been focused on upgrading the Z Flip's design this year. 

Samsung also says the new hinge should make the phone more durable, since it has fewer moving parts. However, it's impossible to know for sure until I've spent an extended period of time with it. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 6.7-inch screen just like the previous model.

It has a 120Hz variable refresh rate, which has become standard on most Samsung phones. 

There's also a 10-megapixel selfie camera at the top of the screen, just like on the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

There are 12-megapixel wide and ultrawide cameras on the back, matching the resolution of the Z Flip 4's rear cameras. 

But the Z Flip 5 runs on a newer chip, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which brings some image processing improvements. 

During my time testing the Z Flip 5, I noticed that colors looked bolder and details appeared crisper compared to photos taken with the Z Flip 4.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 10x digital zoom, just like the Galaxy Z Flip 4. 

You'll still get superior cameras with a larger zoom range and higher resolution on phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Pixel 7 Pro. 

Still, it's the cover screen that really makes the Z Flip 5 feel like a step forward from the Z Flip 4. 

It lets you do so much more with the phone without having to open it. 

I mostly use the Z Flip 5's cover screen for replying to WhatsApp messages, skipping or pausing Spotify tracks, looking up directions and checking notifications. 

Samsung is really marketing the Z Flip 5 toward the younger generation, aiming to make flip phones cool again. That was the big message at the company's Unpacked event in Seoul on July 26. 

As I mentioned earlier, the Z Flip 5's cover display was primarily designed for widgets. There are widgets for the weather, stocks, favorite apps, frequent contacts and more. 

While the Z Flip 5's cover screen is much larger than the Z Flip 4's, it's still slightly smaller than the Razr Plus' 3.6-inch front display. 

Believe it or not, the cover screen is almost the same size as the display on an iPhone 4. 

That said, I like Samsung's version of the cover screen. Notifications look neat, and there's a clever pinching gesture that lets you see all your widgets in a thumbnail view. 

And just in case you need a reminder, this is how the Galaxy Z Flip 5's cover screen compares to the Z Flip 4's. 

You can also use the front screen as a viewfinder when taking selfies with the main rear cameras, which can be useful. 

Although you can't run every app on front screen natively, installing the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store opens up more options. 

If you're listening to Spotify, you can see playback controls and album art on the front screen after closing the phone.

The new cover screen makes it easier to manage playback controls and check notifications quickly.

You can also manage settings like screen brightness, airplane mode and more without opening the Z Flip 5.

The cover screen is a big part of Samsung's marketing push behind the Z Flip 5. 

Samsung is also positioning the cover screen as another way to personalize your device. 

But just like previous Galaxy Z Flip phones, you can use the Z Flip 5 when it's open, closed or opened halfway, as shown in this photo. 

Samsung is positioning the Z Flip 5 has a trendy, pocketable device, while the Z Fold 5 is being marketed as more of a productivity-oriented device, thanks to its tablet-size screen. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is available in mint, graphite, lavender and cream color options. 

Here's another look at the cover screen with the phone propped open like a tent. 

And here's what those color choices look like up close.

Overall, the cover screen does a lot to push the Galaxy Z Flip series forward. It's another sign that phone makers are starting to come up with new use cases for foldables that gets closer to answering the question of why they're useful in the first place.