Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5: Lack Of Major Changes Inform Samsung’s Confidence

When Samsung delved into the world of foldable smartphones years ago, it took on the challenge of bringing back one of the most popular form factors in the mobile phone market in an era where phones are so much more than just phones.

The Galaxy Z Fold series has come a long way in that time to place itself as a powerful device with an innovative design that made that vision an accepted reality within the market, but the latest entry in the series, the Galaxy Z Fold5, enters the fray amidst the natural evolution of that work. Google’s Pixel Fold stands as a worthy competitor to the originator of the phone/mini tablet combo, giving the Galaxy z Fold5 its first point of comparison other than its previous generation.

Knowing that, Samsung appears to have chosen incremental upgrades for this next generation versus larger changes that make the Galaxy Z Fold5 feel like it’s resting on its laurels a tad or a feeling within Samsung of confidence in their productivity-focused foldable as the market widens.

Much about the Galaxy Z Fold5 remains the same from last year’s Fold4. The external and internal displays are the same dimensions, it includes the same 4400mAh battery and its five cameras have the same respective megapixel count. It weighs roughly 10 grams less and gets a sizable boost in brightness, but there isn’t a ton of difference on face value that sets it apart from its predecessor.

That shouldn’t sound wholly discouraging, though. The Fold4 represented a large leap forward versus the Fold3 when it released last year, and while Paste didn’t receive the Fold4 for review, I’ve had a good amount of time messing around with a friend’s Fold4 to understand that fact.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some marked changes that constitute changes between the two generations. The Galaxy Z Fold5’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor powers the biggest improvements. Despite having the same size battery, the Fold5’s battery life is a significant improvement over the Fold4 thanks to improved optimization from the new processor. I regularly had between 15-20% battery left after full day-to-day use.

Pictures and video get a boost in quality as well, with images feeling just a bit crisper compared to the Fold4 and the ability to shoot 8K video at 30fps. Games and streaming video run smoothly and the new hand gestures that let users window fullscreen apps quickly and enter side-by-side app mode with a swipe are welcome additions.

Probably the most divisive, and personally frustrating, aspect of the phone is that the Galaxy Z Fold5’s external screen remains thinner in width than other smartphones. This is definitely a design choice that will vary in impact from user to user, but, for me, it just doesn’t feel right in my hand, especially when compared to the PIxel Fold’s wider external display.

The new redesigned hinge allowing the device to fold almost completely flat does impact that hand feel and aided one-handed use for me, but I could still do with a wider display.

Taking the whole package into account, the Galaxy Z Fold5 feels like the perfect foldable for those wanting to make the jump from a Fold3, but it does land as a hard sell for those happy with their Fold4 that don’t want to drop an additional $1800. More importantly, it still stands as a solid option despite Google’s new challenger. Next year feels like the next big iteration for Samsung’s tablet-esque foldable, but the Fold5 is a top notch entry in the series if you simply can’t wait until then.