Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 review: More of the same, but better

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is Samsung’s fifth-generation foldable phone that opens to reveal a tablet-like experience, thanks to its 7.6-inch internal display. On paper, there’s not a whole lot that’s changed when you compare it to last year’s Z Fold 4, and, at first glance, that’s a shame.

However, I’ve been using the Z Fold 5 for nearly two weeks now, and I have to admit, Samsung’s foldable experience really shines with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, giving you a foldable experience that newcomers such as Google’s Pixel Fold can’t quite match in all areas.

Don’t get me wrong, the Z Fold 5 is far from a perfect foldable, but it’s as close as you can get right now.

What we liked about it

There’s a new hinge in town

One of the biggest changes Samsung made on the Z Fold 5 has to do with one of the most important hardware aspects of any foldable: the hinge.

Previously, the hinge on all Samsung’s foldables left a gap near the crease in the display. This gap was designed to protect the display from any dirt and debris that’d inevitably get trapped between both sides of the screen when you close it. But that meant the phone was also a little thicker than it could be, and it also left room for pocket debris to make its way between the screens.

The new hinge is being used with both the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, and it eliminates any gap between the screens. To help deal with debris, there’s a small lip around the edge of the internal screen that prevents the two sides of the display from actually touching, potentially crushing debris in the process, which can lead to damage.

Since a couple of hours after setting up the Z Fold 5, I don’t think I’ve given the new hinge a second thought. I do think it’s a change that’s good for Samsung to show off and talk about, but it’s not something that’s drastically changed the way I use or view the Z Fold 5 overall. That said, it’s going to go a long way in helping with the overall durability of the hinge and display.

New hinge aside, the design of the Z Fold 5 remains mostly unchanged compared to the Z Fold 4. It still has a 6.2-inch cover display and a 7.6-inch internal screen, each with its own front-facing camera, the latter of which is under the display. There are three rear-facing cameras, vertically stacked. Also in the same spot are the volume buttons as well as the side button that wakes the phone while and houses a fingerprint sensor.

You’d be hard-pressed to tell the Fold 5 apart from the Fold 4 if you were looking at them side by side, unless you paid close enough attention to the gap or the color options. Speaking of which, the Z Fold 5 is available in several colors this year: Icy Blue, Phantom Black, cream, gray and blue.

It’s a workhorse

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with 12GB of memory and storage starts at 256GB, going all the way up to 1TB. There’s no microSD card slot. There’s also no S Pen silo. Instead, you’ll need to buy a stand-alone S Pen or Samsung’s new $100 Slim S Pen case that lives up to its name by providing a slim case that houses an S Pen for quick access.

Powering the Z Fold 5 is the same processor Samsung used in the Galaxy S23 lineup: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. The last part of that name, the “for Galaxy” part, just means that Samsung worked with Qualcomm to overclock the standard Gen 2 chip.

And like the S23 lineup, the Z Fold 5’s performance is smooth and reliable. Arguably, a high-performing processor is more important on a device like the Z Fold 5 because its users are more likely to use multiple apps at the same time, running them in split-screen mode or using an app in pop-up mode, hovering over another app at all times. And because of the large internal display, the Fold line has low-key become a portable gaming device that can do it all.

I’ve really tried to push the Z Fold 5 when it comes to multitasking and performance over the last couple of weeks, moving between and using multiple apps at the same time and the occasional lap or six while playing Asphalt 9.

The Z Fold 5 kept up with everything I threw at it, even as I was dragging and dropping login credentials from 1Password in a pop-up to two different apps on the screen side by side.

My favorite way to use the Z Fold 5’s internal screen is to have my email app open on one side of the screen, with a second app — typically Chrome, Mastodon or Reddit — on the other. I could triage my inbox while taking breaks to read the latest news and posts.

At no time did I feel as if the Z Fold 5 were underpowered or couldn’t keep up with me. As we typically do at CNN Underscored, I ran Geekbench 6 to benchmark the Z Fold 5’s performance on routine computing tasks. And to no one’s surprise, there’s a pretty big jump in performance over last year’s Z Fold 4, and it handily beats the Pixel Fold (again, no surprise) in both single- and multi-core performance.

Multi-core performance is especially important when it comes to tasks that require a lot of power, such as gaming, multitasking and using more than one app at the same time.

Battery life has been good as well. I’ve been able to consistently get through a full day of use, with probably 60% use on the internal display, which naturally is going to use more energy, and the rest of my usage on the external display. That’s with plenty of web browsing in Chrome, mindlessly watching videos in Facebook and Instagram, reading news and scrolling Reddit.

Smooth app compatibility

I’d been using the Pixel Fold for nearly a month when I got my hands on the Z Fold 5. Google’s foldable phone opens like the Z Fold 5, revealing a tablet-like screen on the inside. But the design of the Pixel Fold is different from the Z Fold 5 in that the display isn’t as tall and narrow; it’s shorter and wider. Because of that, not all apps are optimized for the landscape-like design of the Pixel Fold’s screen.

When an app isn’t optimized for the Pixel’s display, you’ll see black bars on either side of the app. You’re effectively seeing a phone-like version of the app instead of it taking up the entire internal display.

Over the month of using the Pixel Fold, I grew accustomed to this and accepted that some apps just don’t look right. They’re still usable.

For the first few days of using the Z Fold 5, my brain kept expecting apps like Instagram, Threads and Facebook all to have the same letterboxed look that I’d grown used to on the Pixel Fold. But it never happened. In fact, not once over the last two weeks have I run into an app that suffered from some sort of compatibility issue on the internal display.

Apps just work. They fill up the entire display and look like a standard app. There’s even a toggle buried in the Z Fold 5’s settings app that forces incompatible apps to take up the full display. I turned it on after a few days, but I’m not even sure it’s needed. Up until that point, I’d yet to experience an app that didn’t look right.

This is a huge advantage for the Z Fold 5 over the Pixel Fold and one that, looking back, I overlooked.

Over the years, Samsung has been rightfully ridiculed for its often bloated One UI skin that runs atop Android, adding features, animations and other improvements. And some of that was and still is warranted. But I have to give credit where it’s due: App compatibility is a nonissue on the Z Fold 5. And it’s awesome.

Speaking of One UI, Samsung released version 6.1 for the Z Fold 5 and other phones in March 2024. This update added generative AI tools that debuted in the Galaxy S24 series, including the novel new Circle to Search function that brings a little magic back to Googling. Galaxy AI can also rewrite text messages, as well as move and resize objects in images. When we tested the new tricks for editing text and photos, the results proved inconsistent and sometimes unintentionally hilarious.

What we didn’t like about it

It’s time for a better camera

Jason Cipriani/CNN Underscored

Jason Cipriani/CNN Underscored

Jason Cipriani/CNN Underscored

Like I said at the start, the Z Fold 5 isn’t perfect. Despite being a workhorse that can run multiple apps at the same time and forgoing any app compatibility issues, there are areas where it needs improvement.

The most notable area is with the rear-facing cameras. Samsung has spent years providing Galaxy S-series owners with arguably the best smartphone camera experience. But when it comes to its foldable phones, owners are often left with cameras that are good enough but not best in class. And that’s a shame.

All the cameras on the Z Fold 5 are identical to the Z Fold 4. There’s a 10-megapixel front-facing camera on the front display, and a 4-megapixel under-display camera on the internal display. Both are just OK but not very impressive (especially the 4-megapixel camera). On the back of the phone, there’s a 50-megapixel main, 12-megapixel ultrawide and 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom.

With these cameras, you’re able to capture good photos. Some are great, even. Just look at this shot I took with zero thought or effort while in Korea for Samsung’s Unpacked event.

As far as I’m concerned, the Z Fold 5 nailed it. However, I took several photos with the Z Fold 5 where it just feels like the overall picture has fallen flat. I’ve often seen colors that are somewhat muted or the cameras struggled with exposure levels.

But the Z Fold 5 cameras don’t live up to the same quality you’ll get from the S23 Ultra or even the S23+. And with the Z Fold 5 starting at $1,800, it doesn’t make any sense.

Better put: I don’t have the same confidence when taking a picture with the Z Fold 5 as I do with the S23 Ultra, or even the Pixel Fold and iPhone.

The cover screen is still cramped

Complaints about the lackluster camera aside, my biggest issue with the Z Fold 5 is the cover screen, or front display. Now that I’ve used the Pixel Fold, a foldable phone with a front display that’s actually usable, I’ve really struggled with accepting the Z Fold 5’s cover screen.

The Z Fold 5’s front display measures 6.2 inches, but it’s slim and tall. The Pixel Fold’s front screen is smaller at 5.8 inches, but it’s shorter and wider. The Pixel’s design feels similar to that of a standard smartphone, albeit one with a smaller display. As such, I feel comfortable typing long text messages or answering emails directly from the front screen.

The cover display on the Z Fold 5 doesn’t offer the same experience. The keyboard’s buttons are smaller and closer together, which often leads to typing errors (even after switching to Gboard for a better autocorrect experience compared to Samsung’s default keyboard).

With the Z Fold 5, the front display has a similar use case to me as the bigger flex window on the Z Flip 5. It’s good for scrolling through some apps, gathering information and even replying to a short message or two. But to do anything meaningful on the phone, you’ll need to open it.

Indeed, the internal screen is why most people buy a device like the Fold 5. But if the Pixel Fold has taught me anything, it’s that the front screen doesn’t have to be just a semi-useful aspect of a foldable phone. There’s no reason it can’t be a critical part of the phone’s overall experience.

I realize that changing the front display on the Z Fold lineup will take big changes to the phone’s overall design, but I think the benefits of doing it are worth it.

How it compares

Bottom line

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the best foldable smartphone for those willing to splurge on a handset that can instantly morph into a tablet. Samsung’s experience in the category results in a polished experience. It’s rare that an app has any compatibility issues, and it’s a multitasking powerhouse. Google’s Pixel Fold doesn’t come close to the same experience in terms of multitasking capabilities, but it does bring a different form factor to the foldable landscape that gives you a usable device on both displays.

An argument can be made that the Z Fold 5 isn’t a meaningful upgrade over the Z Fold 4, and as such, it’s safe to say it’s not worth upgrading from last year’s model to the Z Fold 5. However, if you’re upgrading from an older Z Fold or you’re thinking about testing out a foldable, the Z Fold 5 is a fine device to start with. Then again, the Pixel Fold is a worthy choice as well, especially considering the fact that the front display is very usable, but you’ll have to be willing to deal with random app compatibility issues. It’s awesome to have foldable choices, isn’t it?