A mini-computer that can be folded up and put in your pocket is the first thought after a few minutes of working with this device. Extremely versatile, made with great care and providing the user with the latest features we can find on the market in 2023. However, there is one important nuance – the hinge. This is a folding phone, so the audience is significantly reduced. Of course, not everyone will be in favor of this solution. I was skeptical myself, but the quality and interest of the design made me want to use it every day. I invite you to the review so that after a few weeks of use, I can introduce you to the Samsung Galaxy Fold5 in more detail.
I paid a lot of attention to the hinge and how I would use the phone at home and away from home. How convenient and comfortable is it? Or is it just an updated version of last year’s Samsung Galaxy Fold 4? In theory, the new Fold5 doesn’t look like a significant improvement over the existing model, although it does have some interesting changes, including a “seamless” design.
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Samsung has been producing two folding beds for a long time now – the more compact Flip (our test of this year’s model is here) and the huge Fold. The Flip is great and already costs about $1060, but its capabilities are quite limited. The Galaxy Fold5, on the other hand, is in a completely different price category, as it is a completely different smartphone. The price of Fold depends on the chosen configuration, but starts at $2000.
Price for 3 commercially available configurations:
Samsung Galaxy Fold5 is available in 3 colors as standard: blue, black and beige. In addition, you can order blue and gray variants only on Samsung.com. We tested the blue color, which is a bit pale and not very interesting.
In general, we have a small selection of colors, but other accents play a major role in this model. Especially the format and hardware, including RAM, in all versions up to 12 GB of RAM!
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What we’re used to from Samsung: minimalism inside – in a sleek box we get a USB cable (it has a USB-C connector at both ends), a needle for the SIM tray, and documents (warranty and user manual). There’s no charger, but any with a power of 30 watts or more will do.
Interestingly, Samsung offers an additional stylus, which we do not receive with the phone. The main display of the Galaxy Fold5 supports the S Pen stylus. There is also no slot on the phone to store the stylus, which means you have to buy an expensive compatible case with a special slot. It’s a nice option, but it’s a shame that we don’t get a stylus bundled with such an expensive phone right away.
Of course, there are third-party stylus covers, but you still have to buy the original S Pen stylus.
Modern smartphones are characterized by narrow bezels and lightness. Here it’s the opposite. When folded, we have a very thick gadget – 154.9×67.1×13.4 mm. And when unfolded and in the so-called tablet form, it measures 154.9×129.9×6.1 mm, which is extremely thin. There are two screens, including one huge one, and a folding function. Theoretically, it would seem that the hinge would have to weigh a lot by itself to ensure the strength of the structure, but this is not the case at all! The smartphone weighs 253 g and this is only 13 g more than the weight of the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Fold5 is made of aluminum, glass and recycled plastic. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protects the external display and back panel from minor damage and scratches from everyday use.
In general, the whole design is similar to other Samsung smartphones (I tested the S23 and S23+). When I saw Fold5, I immediately remembered them. There is a lot of simplicity and classics here. The rear cameras are located in the upper corner and are coolly arranged with an island. I like that Samsung follows the principle of continuity, and different models are consistent with each other in terms of design. It’s a bit like the iPhone, a certain brand marker.
Read also: Samsung Galaxy Flip5 review: There’s simply no better foldable smartphone
Samsung has a line of foldable smartphones. Fold5 is one of them. The new product is thinner and slightly lighter than its last year’s predecessor, the Galaxy Fold4, but there is no big difference in the body or size of the two phones. Most importantly, the Fold5 folds flat without a gap when closed, so this is definitely a huge improvement.
In the case of Fold4, it had a “gap” between the folded parts of the screen and… hmm… it didn’t look good, like something wasn’t fully worked out. Fold5 fits perfectly, there is no gap at all.
Something that is certainly important for users of folding models and immediately comes to mind in the new model: the bend in the middle of the display – have we seen an improvement? No. However, the bend does not affect the user experience that much. It is visible from a certain angle and does not interfere with the experience.
As for me, a super solution is multifunctionality! We have a dozen ways to fold the phone and use this hinge to get the most out of it.
When I was writing this text, it occurred to me that we might feel like we’re holding an old Nokia in our hand (looking at the thickness), but that’s just a joke.
Returning to the functionality of the design, the use of the flip-up screen is unlikely to be outside the home, or only in special cases. It is similar in size to a tablet. It’s great for watching movies, playing games, or can be a great alternative to e-readers (especially since we have a version with a huge 1 TB of storage).
The quality and the whole mechanism is reliable. I have tested this folding unit as much as possible and have no complaints. It is precise and has incredible stability. I tried to open it at different speeds – I checked that minimal movements cause certain “levels” of opening, but we cannot adjust the opening angle ourselves. The mechanism does not return to full opening.
The Flex hinge is designed for more than 200,000 folding and unfolding cycles. This means that if the unit is opened and closed 100 times a day, it should be able to operate smoothly for more than five years.
Overall, the design of the Samsung Galaxy Fold5 is perfect, and the model seems very sturdy. In addition, it has IPx8 water protection, which means it can even be submerged under water to a shallow depth.
The power button with an integrated biometric sensor is located on the right side, along with the volume keys. Fingerprint recognition works perfectly, quickly. On one of the lower edges there is a speaker, a block of microphones (four, to be exact), a slot for two nanoSIM cards, and a USB 3.2 type C port.
Narrow or wide? We have both. Galaxy Fold5 has a 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X external display with support for refresh rates up to 120 Hz. This is the same display with an aspect ratio of 23.1:9 and a resolution of 904×2316 that we saw in Galaxy Fold4. The main 7.6-inch folding screen is also the same as on the Fold 4 – 1812×2176 pixels, 120 Hz.
The outer 6.2-inch is narrow, which makes the keyboard a bit cramped, but for tasks such as messaging, listening to music, and other phone manipulations, it works well enough.
In addition, the 7.6-inch display is impressive when expanded.
In general, the latest Samsung models have a Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It’s in the Fold5, it was in the Fold4, and it’s also in the new S23 flagship series of 2023. This is an excellent display in every way with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
It’s worth noting that the 120 Hz mode works automatically and doesn’t always stay at this level. The settings include a standard 60 Hz mode, as well as settings for color reproduction, dark mode, eye protection, additional brightness, and more.
The peak brightness of both screens is 1750 nits, the same as in all S23 smartphones. Cool, I have a feeling that everything that Samsung offers in its 2023 smartphones is taken into account here, but in a foldable version. I was incredibly happy with the entire S23 series, and here we have almost the same thing in a foldable version.
If someone decides to buy a foldable phone, they will love the Fold5. Here we also have the latest Samsung specs with a relatively new and excellent flexible screen solution.
The Fold5 has high-quality internal and external displays that showcase all the benefits of SuperAMOLED panels (such as vivid colors and deep blacks) that everyone has come to love over the years. Samsung claims that the new design makes the screen 25% stronger than before, but like any other folding element, it’s still softer than regular glass, so it should be handled with care.
Read also: Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus review: A plus for size and battery
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” is a great chip that has already proven itself and has been tested by users of the Samsung S23 series. It is faster, created by Qualcomm specifically for the “galaxy” S23 series. In fact, the entire line was created for people with high demands. Such a well-designed chipset is also used in Samsung Galaxy Fold5.
Fold5 has such good performance that it is impossible to make it freeze. Compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, the new generation processor has certainly become even faster (by 35-40%), but more importantly, more energy efficient and economical.
The smartphone is very fast, performs any task, withstands a heavy load, and copes with all the “voracious” games. It was created for this purpose, and the folding screen is designed to enhance the pleasure of using such a powerful processor.
Test results:
Well, the test results speak for themselves. The performance is excellent, everything you would expect from the latest Samsung models.
The Fold5 is available in three versions – 12/256, 12/512, 12GB/1TB. The fact that the RAM in these three versions is 12 GB already commands respect. As for the permanent memory, it’s a matter of preference, there’s plenty to choose from.
How can you characterize performance? Speed, smoothness and reliability.
Samsung Galaxy Fold5 has a total of 5 cameras, which are essentially the same as its predecessor. Does it make sense to repeat myself? Perhaps we should only compare the quality of the photos. Moreover, the latest S23 series takes better photos, at least that’s the impression I got after testing. But, as I’ve written many times before, each of these smartphones has its own target audience. It all depends on what we emphasize when choosing a phone.
We have a 50-megapixel main camera (which by default shoots at 12-megapixel resolution – pixel split for better quality), a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 3x optical zoom lens. In addition, there is a 10-megapixel front camera on the outer screen and a 4-megapixel camera below the inner screen.
The camera app is the same as on any Samsung phone. Swipe left and right to switch between all available modes. Vertical swipes in any direction switch between the front and rear cameras. The camera’s capabilities are very wide. We have Pro photo mode, Pro video mode, multiple exposure, astrophoto mode, food mode, panorama, one-step mode, which allows you to shoot a series of photos and videos on the go, from which you can later choose the best ones.
Photos from the main and ultra-wide-angle cameras are good when taken outdoors during the day, with lots of detail, low noise, and good dynamic range.
You can also use a 10x or even 30x zoom, but the image quality is severely compromised:
Night mode is noticeably faster than on older models, and photos are also a little sharper. But overall, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.
Color reproduction and clarity deteriorate significantly in wide-angle mode.
When it comes to video, we have recording in the highest quality and by default. The video recording quality of the Galaxy Fold5 is comparable to other Samsung flagships. It supports 8K recording at 30 frames per second, and there is also the option of 4K recording. Recording in 4K at 60 fps is possible on the 50 megapixel camera. I tried all the modes:
Overall, the cameras are good. If not compared to the flagship S23 Ultra.
Read also: Samsung Galaxy S23 review: the cool compact flagship
Fold5 supports Samsung’s 25W supercharging technology. It takes about 30 minutes to reach 50% charge, and up to 80 minutes to go from 0 to 100%. And, as always, Samsung uses an eco-friendly slogan and does not put a charger in the box, so a charger (preferably from 30 W and above in the Power Delivery standard) is an additional purchase. It’s also a shame that we don’t get 45W fast charging like the S23+ and Ultra.
Thanks to its multitasking and large screen, the Fold5’s battery lasts for a full day of heavy use, and standby power consumption is also impressively low thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset.
The Fold5 has excellent connectivity options, including support for all 5G bands, Wi-Fi 6E, and ultra-wideband (UWB).
The Fold5 also has a great stereo speaker configuration. Unlike other Samsung phones, the Fold lineup features two dedicated speakers rather than using an “earpiece” as one of the two stereo channels, which improves sound quality whether you’re playing games, watching videos, or listening to your favorite tracks. The speakers are placed on the bezel, so they play with an even volume. There are no complaints about the sound – it is juicy, well-balanced, and the volume is sufficient.
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Galaxy Fold5 runs on Android 13 with One UI 5.1.1. Compared to the S23 shell, it has been slightly refined and improved, but at first glance, there are no differences. A detailed description of the software can be found in our Samsung S23 review.
When it comes to the typical software for the latest Samsung models, the center screen appears:
The interface is optimized for folding screens. The main focus is on the taskbar. It appears at the bottom of the home screen interface. On the left is the menu item for all programs.The Galaxy Fold5 comes with a number of software tricks that allow you to take advantage of the foldable body. We can have a separate home screen layout for the external and internal displays, so you can put phone apps on the small screen and tablet apps on the large screen. Foldable Fold5 supports the Flex mode panel. If you fold the phone at any angle between 75 and 115 degrees, the application you are using will be displayed on the top half of the screen, and the bottom half will become the control area. In the YouTube app, the flexible mode bar will show the video on the top half of the screen, and you can use the bottom half for anything from controlling video playback to reading comments.
If that’s not enough, we have Samsung’s Dex Mode, which allows you to get a full-fledged Android desktop computer that can be used when the phone is connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. For some, the Fold5 may be the only computer they need. I suggest you read my description of this mode. This is a cool addition. We can connect the phone to a monitor or TV and use it almost like a desktop device. We have a desktop, applications, etc. We can connect to an external screen with a cable and wirelessly.
Samsung has introduced a novelty – each of the latest devices, including, of course, the Galaxy Fold5, will receive four major Android updates, as well as constant security patches for five years.
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So we’ve met the fifth generation of Samsung’s folding tablet-phone. As I called it at the beginning: a mini-computer that you fold up and put in your pocket… and that’s exactly what it is. All the features I’ve described are designed to replace a computer, tablet, or even an e-book. Samsung’s Dex feature alone means that the Galaxy Fold5 can now be the only computer we need.
This is definitely the best folding phone from Samsung. If you compare it to its predecessor, there are some innovations and improvements, but are they that significant? No, but that’s also because the predecessor was of a high standard and there were few things that could be improved. After testing the S23 series, I expected a lot of solutions to be repeated, and it’s all there, I have nothing to complain about.
The Galaxy Fold5 is a specific model, it has a narrow audience, it is expensive, but that makes it something special. Flagship specs, super screens, and on top of that, Samsung’s advanced software that improves performance and allows you to make better use of the foldable form factor, even if the apps aren’t designed specifically for it. The only thing that could be improved is the cameras, at least to the level we have in the S23 Ultra.
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