Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review: Small changes make a big difference

Samsung’s foldable range of devices continues to evolve but this isn’t a year of showstopping updates or radical redesigns. The latest batch of bendy devices have instead received subtle upgrades aimed at refining the overall user experience. Things are now thinner, lighter and more powerful plus there’s an update to the Flex Hinge which improves the robustness of the folding screens.

But has Samsung done enough to convince customers to part with huge sums of money (the Fold5 costs over £1,700) so they can join the foldable revolution?

Express.co.uk has been putting the Galaxy Z Fold5 through its paces and here is our full review.

Samsung has been slowly refining the design of its Fold phones since the original launch back in 2019 and there’s no question that the 5th gen model is their best yet. The new and more durable Flex Hinge finally means things close firmly shut and the gap between the screen that blighted older models is now nowhere to be seen. Samsung has also made the 2023 version a little thinner and lighter which certainly makes it easier to handle and less of a pain to pop in your pocket.

The Z Fold 5 feels exquisitely made and includes a premium Armor Aluminium finish around the edges and lashings of Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for added protection.

All of the buttons are in the right place, the soft sheen finish hides those irritating fingerprints and the triple-lens camera pops neatly out of the rear case. It really is an engineering marvel and you get the feeling it will have no trouble coping with years of punishment.

Of course, this device is all about those dual displays and we have good and bad news about the Z Fold’s screens.

Let’s get the bit we don’t like out of the way first. The front cover screen is still a bit odd and we can’t help feeling it’s time Samsung considered changing the dimensions. It measures in at 6.2 inches which sounds perfect for viewing content and answering emails but its tall thin form factor just isn’t conducive to productivity or watching movies on the move. Everything feels very cramped on this panel and it’s just not that pleasant to use.

Some rivals, including Google, have recently released foldables with a passport-sized front screen and they far more user-friendly than what features on the Fold.

As you can read in our full Pixel Fold review, we really like this form factor and it makes Samsung’s Fold5 feel pretty awkward in comparison.

The screen itself is fast, bright and colourful but it doesn’t offer an experience you’d want to use for long periods. In fact, most of the time we ignored it and flipped things open instead.

Luckily, when you do go into tablet mode you are in for a treat. The main 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED Flex display is a thing of absolute beauty and is now even brighter than before with Samsung boosting things by 30 percent. That makes it far more usable out in the midday sun.

You’ll also be treated to a fully adaptive 120Hz refresh for silky smooth scrolling and stutter-free gameplay.

Other than the inevitable crease that runs through its centre we really can’t find fault with this main screen and it’s a total pleasure to use especially as more and more apps are now able to make full use of the extra space. In fact, we’re really struggling to go back to a standard smartphone – that’s how good this screen is.

Just like the Galaxy S23 range of devices, the Fold5 gets a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor under its glass and metal body. This is already regarded as one of the best brains in the business but to make things even better, this chip is a “special edition” that’s been made just for Galaxy phones.

It really does offer a very slick experience. We’ve been playing games, sending emails, whizzing around the web and watching endless shows on Netflix and nothing has fazed this Z Fold5. It’s an absolute powerhouse and we honestly don’t think you’ll find a single thing it can’t cope with.

Battery life is also pretty decent thanks to the Gen 2’s efficiency and a reasonably big 4,400mAh power pack.

Sadly Samsung hasn’t boosted the battery in this year’s phone so don’t expect any huge gains over last year. During out tests, we’ve found the Fold5 easily lasts a day but we won’t be heading away for a weekend with a charger. When things do run low you’ll find it takes around 30 mins to go from flat to 50 percent using a 25W power brick. Like all new Samsung devices, this isn’t supplied in the box so you’ll need to add one to your shopping basket to advantage of faster refilling.

There’s no big camera upgrade on the Z Fold5 this year which is a bit of a shame especially as Samsung impressed so much with the new snapper found on its Galaxy S23 Ultra.

That’s not to say that the photography experience on the Z Fold5 is bad there are just not as many bells and whistles as found on that non-foldable sibling.

You’ll find a total of five lenses on the Fold5 including three cameras on the back along with a front-facing snapper on the cover screen and another hidden neatly under the main tablet-style display.

There’s nothing wrong with the pictures the Z Fold5 takes with most shots we snapped looking packed with detail and full of colour. You get a 20X zoom, wide-angle option plus all the usual extras such as Portrait Mode, Night Mode, Expert Raw, Panoramas and the option to film video in full 4K.

It’s a solid camera. However, if you want a Samsung phone with the very best lenses on the rear case we’d still recommend buying the Ultra over the Fold.

As you’d expect from a flagship phone, the Z Fold5 gets a swathe of extra features inducing a fast side-mounted fingerprint scanner, wireless charging and IPX8 water resistance which means you can use it in the British weather without fear of it breaking.

As well as improved hardware, Samsung has also tweaked its software which now means more apps can be stored in the useful Taskbar. This pops up like a dock on a PC for easy access to multiple applications. Multitasking is also simple with a quick drag and drop offering the option to use numerous apps side by side.

It’s all good stuff but there is one thing that’s missing. The Z Fold5 is fully compatible with the latest S Pen from Samsung (which is now thinner than before) but for some bizarre reason it doesn’t ship with the device and you’ll have to pay extra if you want to scribble on that main display without using your finger.

Samsung is bundling the stylus with a special case that also offers storage for the Pen but that will set you back another £90.

The Z Fold5 feels like the perfect device for using a digital pen on its huge screen and it should definitely be in the box. Come on Samsung!

So, here’s the conundrum. As you can read in our full Galaxy S23 Ultra review this is possibly the best smartphone of 2023 so far with it offering a superb camera set-up, stunning screen and S Pen accessory that slots neatly inside.

At £1,249 it’s expensive but that price is £500 cheaper than the ZFold5.

Of course, you don’t get that expansive display or party trick of unfolding the phone in front of your mates. However, if that really doesn’t worry you we feel the S23 Ultra is much better value for money.

The Galaxy Z Fold5 isn’t cheap. In fact, with a starting price of £1,749 it’s ludicrously expensive. Even on contract you’ll pay around £60 per month for the privilege of owning a foldable.

To be fair to Samsung, Google’s Pixel Fold is also priced at £1,749 so this tech is clearly expensive to produce.

To soften the blow, Samsung is offering trade-in deals and ways to spread the cost over monthly instalments but owning this device is a serious investment and you really need to make sure you’re going to get the most out of a foldable before splashing all of that cash.

Want to know more about buying the Fold5? Find all the best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 deals.

Despite some initial apprehension, we’ve been left pretty smitten by the Z Fold5. The main screen is total joy to use, there’s oodles of power, it’s beautifully made and the slimmer design makes it far easier to handle.

The cameras are good, the upgraded Flex Hinge feels way more robust and you get plenty of extras including improved multitasking, wireless charging and a speedy fingerprint scanner.

It should be getting the full 5-star treatment but the lack of S Pen in the box and the weirdly tall cover screen are two flaws that can’t be overlooked.

It’s also ludicrously expensive and only those with very deep pockets will be able to consider buying one. That’s a real shame as the more we’ve used the Z Fold5, the more we’ve grown to love it.

This a fabulous foldable that makes standard smartphones feel very much stuck in the past.

Would we use it every day as our go-to phone? Absolutely yes! Would we raid our savings and spend £1,749 on it? Probably not