If there’s one trendy phone we’ve been highly anticipating, it’s the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5. With competition in the flip phone market becoming tougher, we had high expectations from the Korean tech company.
Now, it’s finally here, launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, the Galaxy Tab S9 series, and the Galaxy Watch 6 series at the 2023 Galaxy Unpacked.
There are a lot of changes Samsung made to the phone both inside and out, and we go to try out the new Galaxy Z Flip5. So without further ado, let’s do a quick hands-on of the new Samsung flip phone.
Table of Contents
Cover Display
First, let’s talk about the design of the new Flip5. Perhaps the most significant and important change is the cover display. It now measures 3.4 inches as compared to the 1.9-inch cover display on the Flip4. You can even do more from the cover screen itself.
Unlike before, there are even more customization options like graphical clocks, customized images and videos, and frames to choose from. As a result, it’s now on par with the Oppo Find N2 Flip and the Motorola Razr Plus.
Aside from all the widgets, you can now use it to take photos and selfies using the rear camera module. This makes taking selfie photos and videos fun and makes it easier to frame you and your friends when taking photos.
But taking photos is just one feature you can do with the cover screen. You can now check notifications, alerts, and messages without having to open your phone. It’s now also possible access quick settings for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Yes, you can even reply to messages from the cover screen as a small qwerty keyboard will pop out. There’s even a multi-widget view that can be activated by pinching the screen.
Build and Construction
Another major change Samsung made to the Galaxy Z Flip5 is the design of the phone itself. The Flip5 now features what Samsung calls their Flex Hinge, allowing it to close completely when folded. There’s no longer a gap between the main screen near the hinges when you close the phone, giving it a more flush finish.
As a result, the Flip5 is now thinner when closed, making it easier to fit in your pockets. Specifically, it now measures just 15.1mm when closed as compared to the 17.1mm in the Flip4.
Aside from those changes, the Galaxy Z Flip5 looks and feels very much the same as before. There’s no obvious difference when the phone is unfolded, and the screen still feels nice and smooth.
As for the button layouts, it’s the same as before too. Due to the new 3.4-inch cover screen, the layout of the camera module has been changed too.
Overall, the design changes Samsung made to the new Galaxy Z Flip5 look great especially since you can do a lot more without having to open the phone. This makes it a lot more convenient to use.
Display
The display of the phone is very much the same as before. You get a 6.7-inch screen with vivid colors, a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, and protection by Gorilla Glass Victus+. So if you’re coming from the older Galaxy Z Flip4, you’ll feel at home with the new Flip5.
Cameras
Another feature that appears to be a carryover from the Flip4, at least on paper, is the cameras. The dual-rear camera continues to use a 12MP wide [F1.8 1.8µm with OIS] and a 12MP Ultrawide [F/2.2, 123˚, 1.12µm].
The photos look great, very sharp with vibrant colors and high contrast. Although it doesn’t feel too different from the Flip 4 that I’ve been using for the past few weeks. It’s a similar story when shooting videos.
However, Samsung does say improvements were made especially when shooting at night. We’ll definitely have to try it out once for the full review which will be coming out very soon.
As mentioned earlier, the new front display does allow you to take even better selfie photos using the main rear camera module instead of the front camera. While you could do that before, having a larger screen just makes things more convenient.
Check out some of the sample photos and videos we were able to take using the Galaxy Z Flip5 below.
Performance and Battery
Under the hood, the Galaxy Z Flip5 is now powered by a more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 made for Galaxy chipset. We weren’t given the opportunity to play games, but do stay tuned for that in the full review. Still, we expect it to perform a lot better than its predecessor.
At the moment we wrote this hands-on, the RAM was not disclosed just yet. The same can be said about the battery size. Samsung did say there will be two storage options available for the Philippine market – 256GB and 512GB.
For reference though, the Flip4 uses a 3,700mAh battery pack, and it was one of the weak points of the phone since it drained quite fast.
With the new chipset, it could last longer. It’s also possible Samsung upgraded the battery pack to a larger unit.
Availability
As for the price? The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 starts at PHP 64,990 for the 256GB variant, while the 512GB variant retails for PHP 71,990. It’s a relatively small price jump from the Galaxy Z Flip4 initially retailed at PHP 62,990 for the 256GB|8GB variant and PHP 69,990 for the 512GB|8GB variant last year.
Find out about Samsung Philippines’ pre-order promos for the 2023 Z lineup here 51.
Initial Thoughts
For all the changes Samsung has made, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 seems like a very tempting choice. But, we’ll reserve our final judgment of the phone in our full review which will be out very soon. There, we’ll also include the usual round of battery tests, benchmarks, and more.
But what do you think of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 so far? Share your thoughts below.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 specs:
6.7-inch HD+ (2640 x 1080 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display, 120Hz refresh rate
3.4-inch (720 x 748 pixels) Super AMOLED Display, 60Hz refresh rate
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 2 Made for Galaxy SoC
8GB LPDDR5 RAM
256GB, 512GB
12MP f/1.8 OIS, dual-pixel AF main camera
12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide
10MP f/2.2 selfie camera
nano SIM w/ e-SIM
5G, 4G LTE
WiFi 6E
Bluetooth 5.3
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, Galileo
NFC
USB-C
Capacitive fingerprint scanner
Face Unlock
IPX8 water and dust resistance
Armor Aluminum body
Android 13 with One UI 5.1.1
3,700mAh dual battery, 23W fast charging
71.9 x 85.1 x 15.1mm (dimensions, closed)
71.9 x 165.1 x 6.9mm (dimensions, open)
187 grams (weight)
