Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: Bigger and better

Samsung introduced its newest sensation and the much-awaited phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, in South Korea recently, and now the flip device is available in India. After using the Galaxy Z Flip 5 for about one full week, it is safe to say that the Z Flip 5 is one of Samsung's most refined flip phones to date. Its standout feature? The outer screen, which is bigger and clearer and makes life much easier.

I believe the new Flip goes much beyond the improvements on the outer screen. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 combines a stylish foldable design with powerful performance. It has a sleek look and captures impressive photos as well. For Indian consumers, the 8GB + 256GB version of the phone starts at Rs 99,999.

While all looks good and improved, the ultimate question remains: Is the Galaxy Z Flip 5 worth its price? Can it be your phone every day? Let's look into our review and find out.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 design and build

The form factor of the Z Flip 5 is pretty much the same as the predecessor with some tweaks, and very important ones. The Galaxy Z Flip 5's biggest highlight is its bigger outer screen, which also makes it much more useful than ever before. The Z Flip 5 also comes in fun new colors - Graphite, Cream, Lavender, and Mint. I received the Mint colour for this review. It's a nice and soft color, though I personally like the Lavender, everyone has their own favorite.

Now, what's cool about the outside screen is that you can do more now. You can see messages, answer calls, watch shows on Netflix, take pictures, and a lot more. Speaking of pictures, there are two cameras on the outside. They work as selfie cameras when the phone is closed and regular cameras when it's open.

The phone has shiny, boxy sides which look good and are easy to hold. But because it's made of glass, it can be a bit slippery at times. So, it might be a good idea to use the phone with a case. The buttons to turn it on and adjust the volume are on the side.

Now, when you open the phone, you see a tall, clear screen. It also has a camera at the top for selfies. The phone looks fancy, but it's also strong and not too heavy. This means it's easy to carry and use all day.

In the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung has also made noticeable improvements, especially with the screen crease -- it's less obvious, though not entirely gone. The hinge, a crucial part of the phone's design, also feels sturdy and durable. While flipping the phone open and closed is smooth, it's worth noting that doing so is easier with two hands rather than one.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 displays

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 6.7-inch main screen and a smaller 3.4-inch screen on the outside. Both are bright and clear, with the main screen being a bit smoother.

Let's focus on the Galaxy Z Flip 5's standout feature: its larger outer screen. Samsung didn't skimp on quality here. One small issue: both screens can be quite reflective, which made clicking product shots a bit tricky. But setting that aside, watching videos or scrolling through apps is a delight, and the touch response is also super smooth.

Coming to what the outer screen can do. Well, it can do a lot. You can simply glance at your calendar, tally your daily steps, or even answer calls without flipping open your phone. That’s right, now you can do all of that without even opening the phone. Plus, apps like Google Maps, Messages, Netflix, WhatsApp, and YouTube are all at your fingertips on the outer display. Whether it is about watching a quick YouTube video or catching up on Netflix, the folded flip can do it all. Of course, for a full viewing experience, you'd want a larger screen. One thing to keep in mind: the outer screen's app support is still growing, but there's hope. With the Good Lock app from the Galaxy Store, you can add more apps to the mix. Additionally, snapping selfies is a breeze with this bigger outer screen - no need to open the phone fully, a game-changer from the previous model.

Let's now discuss the large 6.7-inch screen. It's now brighter, better, and switching between tasks is really smooth. Watching videos or looking at photos is great, with lively and bright colors. But, when you go outside, the screen can be a bit shiny and reflective. Indoors, it looks perfect.

As for the brightness, both the outside and main screens of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 are bright enough when you're indoors, even at just 50 per cent brightness. But if you're outside, you might need to turn up the brightness, which could use the battery faster. Overall, if you love watching movies or short videos on Instagram and YouTube like I do, this phone is great.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 performance and battery

The new Galaxy Z Flip 5 uses a special Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip made just for the phone, which is faster than usual. They have 8GB of memory. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has two storage sizes: 256GB and 512GB. It can connect using 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other ways, and it charges with a USB Type-C port.

Unfortunately, the new foldable phone, like the older ones, doesn't protect against dust but can handle water with its IPX8 rating. But it has many sensors, like ones for movement, pressure, rotation, and light. It also has a fingerprint scanner on the side that unlocks the phone very quickly. There’s also face unlock support that works rather smoothly and unlocks the phone in the blink of an eye.

Coming to real-life performance, the Galaxy Z Flip impresses me in this department. I used the Galaxy Z Flip 5 as my daily driver for nearly a week and absolutely loved using it. Considering how powerful the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor is, the Galaxy Flip is great for multitasking as well as gaming. I played Asphalt 9 on the Z Flip 5 and the game ran rather smoothly and at no point did the phone lag. However, long gaming sessions heat up the phone sometimes, but I must mention that it also cools down pretty quickly as well. So, whether it is about switching between apps or scrolling mindlessly through social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn’t lag at any point in time. Samsung's Z Flip 5, like their other flagship phones from the brand, offers excellent sound quality. Its speakers can fill a medium-sized room with sound, even when there are several people around.

Software-wise, the smartphone runs on Android 13 with OneUI 5.1.1 on top, which is pretty easy to use and doesn’t come with unwanted ads or bloatware. Thank god! Though there are a couple of Samsung apps that the phone comes installed with, the good thing is they can be removed if needed. So, the Z Flip 5 is pretty good for someone looking for a ‘hatke’ phone that is also super easy to use.

Coming to the battery performance, this is one of the few areas that the Flip could have been better at, I believe. I used the phone rigorously for about a week and the phone lasted a bit less than a full day, which isn’t what I expected from such an expensive device. Another issue is that the Flip only comes with support for 25W fast charging at a time when cheaper phones offer faster charging capability. For me, it took around a bit more than an hour to fully charge (0-100 per cent) the phone, which is a bit disappointing. Another thing I really hoped to see was the charging brick in the box.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 camera

Specs first: the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 offers a dual rear camera system comprising of a 12-megapixel ultra-wide primary sensor with an f/2.2 lens and a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera with dual pixel autofocus, an f/1.8 lens, and support for Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). On the front, the phone includes a 10-megapixel selfie camera with an f/2.2 lens and an 85-degree field of view. Just like the predecessor, the main dual cameras sit on the outer side which also turn out to be a selfie shooter when the phone is unfolded.

To get it right off the bat, the cameras of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 are pretty good if not great. That’s also because the phone doesn’t come with the latest camera hardware. But be assured that the Flip clicks photos that are Instagram-friendly and do not require additional editing.

Now coming to my experience, the main camera performs admirably when there's a lot of light. If you provide it with the right conditions, such as indirect lighting and subjects with bright colours, it can produce really striking photos. While its portrait mode delivers good results, it doesn't quite match up with the superior quality seen in the S23 cameras. In most scenarios, I found the edges to be a bit blurry. In fact, even photos clicked with the main camera lose details when zoomed in, but otherwise the photos click quite well, definitely Instagram-worthy.

The flip lacks a dedicated zoom lens and the digital zoom could be better, I believe. In good lighting, the wide-angle shots could have more depth, and in low light, the colour accuracy and clarity aren't always spot on. But that doesn’t mean the camera of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is bad, it does a decent job. And I believe the camera can be tweaked with future software updates.

Coming to the front shooter, the Flip clicks decent looking selfies in low-light but in good light, the selfies look pretty good with lots of detail. I usually clicked selfies in normal mode but there are modes that beautify the photos clicked with the front camera. So, if you like to add extra beautification layers to selfies, you can simply select the mode and click your photos. I liked portrait selfies because the camera blurs the background pretty well and the edges also turn out to be quite sharp.

Videos shot with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 also look pretty good. Samsung claims to use AI to make videos look better in the dark, and I think the videos I shot appeared to be pretty good. The coolest part is taking photos and videos with this flip phone. You can bend it to look like an "L" and put it on a table, using it like a stand for hands-free video. You can also hold it like an old camcorder, or adjust the display to make it seem like a vintage camera and take quick photos. But the best use case of this form factor, in my opinion, is during video calls.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review: should you buy

After using the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 for about a week, I can say that it is one of the most practical foldable phones that the company has ever launched. So, if you are willing to spend about 1 lakh on a smartphone that looks different and stylish, folds, has two screens, and offers all of that without compromising a lot on the performance front, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a good deal.

Overall, its new design, better and bigger outer screen, and good performance are impressive. However, I believe that the camera and battery performance could have been a bit better, but right now, what Samsung offers in these departments is also not too bad. But there’s scope for improvement. All-in-all, if you're keen on owning an innovative piece of tech that turns heads and offers great performance, the Z Flip 5 is definitely worth considering.