- Samsung / Pocket-lint
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Our top choice$1400 $1800 Save $400The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is better than ever, the tweak in design making this phone fold better and feel better. In some ways this is an iterative update of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it's clear that if you're after a book-type folding phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the one to choose.
Pros- Upgraded folding design
- Loads of power
- Great display quality
Cons- External display too narrow
- Some bloatware
- Samsung / Pocket-lint
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
A superb alternative$1420 $1920 Save $500The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is might have been succeeded but it remains a great device with solid performance, a lovely design and good camera results. The newer model is superior in its design but there's stil plenty to love here, and it's likely to be the cheaper option now too.
Pros- Flagship cameras
- Loads of power
- S Pen compatible
Cons- Charging speeds average at best
- No S Pen storage
Samsung revealed its latest book-style folding phone during a Galaxy Unpacked event on 26 July, succeeding the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The fifth generation of the device was announced alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and a number of other devices, including the Galaxy Watch 6 series of smartwatches and Galaxy Tab S9 series of tablets.
If you're wondering how the Galaxy Z Flip 5 compares to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, we have you covered in a separate feature, and we've also compared the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to the Pixel Fold elsewhere, but here we are running up the differences between the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4. What's changed? Which should you choose if you're in the market for a folding phone? Or if you have the Galaxy Z Fold 4, should you upgrade?
Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 was announced on 26 July and it was made available on 11 August globally and it starts at $1799 in the US and £1749 in the UK. In terms of colour options, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes in Icy Blue, Phantom Black and Cream as standard. There are also Gray and Blue options exclusive to Samsung.com.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 meanwhile, launched at $1799 in the US and £1649 in the UK, so the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a little more expensive at launch in the UK but the same price as its predecessor in the US. Typically, you can find the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with some money off now though, so you might be able to pick it up a little cheaper than the launch price if you look around. It comes in four colour options of Graygreen, Phantom Black, and Beige, as well as a Samsung.com exclusive Burgundy so the options are slightly different to the Galaxy Z Fold 5, as you might expect.
In terms of specs, you can see a rundown of how the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 compare below, though read on for more detail on their differences beyond the numbers.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 Display 6.2-inch AMOLED, 2316 x 904, 120Hz (cover) / 7.6-inch AMOLED, 2176 x 1812, 120Hz (main) 6.2-inch, OLED, 2316 x 904, 120Hz (cover) / 7.6-inch, OLED, 2176 x 1812, 120Hz (main) Battery 4400mAh / 25W fast charging, 15W wireless charging 4400mAh, 25W fast charging, wireless charging Operating System Android 13, One UI Android with One UI Front camera 10MP f/2.2 (cover), 4MP f/1.8 UPC (under-display) 10MP f/2.2 (cover), 4MP f/1.8 UPC (main) Dimensions 154.94 x 67.06 x 13.46mm (folded) / 154.94 x 129.79 x 6.10mm (unfolded), 253g 155.1 x 67.1 x 15.8mm (folded) / 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm (unfolded), 263g IP Rating IPX8 IPX8 RAM and Storage 12GB, 256/512/1TB 12GB, 256/512/1TB
Design and build
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is ever so slightly smaller than its predecessor when you look at the measurements, and marginally slimmer, though it's highly unlikely you would notice in reality. We found it difficult to tell even when we had the devices side-by-side. What you will notice though, is a reduction in weight by 10g for the Z Fold 5 and a redesigned hinge that allows the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to fold completely flat. The latter marks the biggest distinction between the Z Fold 5 and the Z Fold 4, and it's a great upgrade, getting rid of the gap next to the hinge when folded. Initial rumours suggested we would see a built-in S Pen this time around, but that didn't happen so the overall design - except for the lack of gap in the new device - is largely the same.
There's a vertical book-style fold, a large display on the front with a centralised punch hole camera at the top, and a large internal display with an under-display camera on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The IP rating remains at IPX8 so while the gap next to the hinge has been closed, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is still no closer to getting an official resistance against dust. On the rear, there is a pill-shaped camera housing in the top left corner with three camera lenses, while the side of the device features a physical fingerprint sensor.
When it comes to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, you get a similar design to the Galaxy Z Fold 3. It was more about refinement than a redesign, with a wider and shorter stance than the Z Fold 3, and it's a great looking device overall, which the Z Fold 5 builds upon. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 doesn't fold flat like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, with a gap next to the hinge, though this model did introduce the Armour Aluminium frame that made it a little more resistant to drops and that carries through to the next generation, but with an added 25 per cent in strength according to Samsung.
Like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, there's an IPX8 water and dust resistance on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 - the gap near the hinge means it definitely doesn't get a dust rating. It also has a book-style design with a large flexible display on the inside and a smaller, but very functional, display on the outside. A very similar looking pill-shaped camera housing is present in the top left too and there is a physical fingerprint sensor rather than an under-display option on the side, like the Galaxy Z Fold 5. On the whole therefore, the design is largely the same between these folding smartphones, though the Galaxy Z Fold 5 brings some great refinements that make it the better looking handset.
Display
When it comes to displays, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with pretty much identical screens to the Galaxy Z Fold 4 so there are minimal changes in this department to write home about. That's not necessarily a bad thing though, as Samsung delivers some of the best displays in the business and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Fold 4 show this off beautifully. In terms of the hardcore specs then, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 both come with a 6.2-inch external Dynamic AMOLED display with a 2316 x 904 pixel resolution. This results in a pixel density of 401ppi and it's a bright and colour-rich panel that's excellent in use.
The inner display is a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a 2176 x 1812 pixel resolution that pushes out a pixel density of 373ppi. It has an Ultra Thin Glass layer over the top, which is what enables it to fold and while there is evidence of the crease on both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4, it's only really noticeable when you swipe your thumb or finger across it rather than affecting everyday use. Ultimately, these creases are never likely to be invisible so if you want a folding phone, it is something you are going to have to put up with. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 does have a brighter display though compared to its predecessor, with a 1200nits typical brightness and 1750nits peak brightness.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 have an under-display camera at the top, and while it is visible in certain lighting conditions, it can definitely be ignored. Overall, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 deliver two brilliant displays, both of which have a 120Hz refresh rate. The main displays have an adaptive refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz and a ratio of 21.6:18, while the external displays have a refresh rate between 48Hz and 120Hz and a ratio of 23.1:9.
Hardware and software
While the displays don't see any changes between the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4, under the hood, there are some differences. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy platform, which the Galaxy S23 series runs on. It's a custom version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform with increased clock speeds on the CPU and GPU and the performance is great. Memory and storage options are 12GB RAM with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options, and there is no microSD on any of the models for storage expansion.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs on Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and it also offers 12GB of RAM with three storage options of 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. It's an excellent performer, acting like a flagship phone, which is exactly what the Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers too. We experienced zero lag with either the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the Galaxy Z Fold 4 so you aren't going to be disappointed with either when it comes to performance. There's a 4400mAh battery within both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4, so again, no change in this department either, though the upgraded processor does help improve battery life in the Z Fold 5. We'd like to have seen a capacity bump here too, but in our experience, both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will see you through to the end of the day.
Faster charging speeds would have been good to see too in the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but that wasn't to be this time with fast charging on both devices limited to 25W, which is quite significantly slower now than rivals offer. It's not a huge issue if you charge your phone overnight, but it is useful for a quick mid-afternoon top up if you have been busy binge watching your favourite Netflix show on your commute, for example.
Both the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 have some great software features that take advantage of their larger screens and both devices also support the S Pen. There are plenty of multi-tasking opportunities and the ability to have a few apps running on the main internal display at once remain core to the user experience of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, as it is on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. The user interface and experience between these two devices is therefore virtually identical.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 features the same camera loadout as the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which means both devices offer a 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.8 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture. There were reports that the Z Fold 5's main camera could be the 108-megapixel sensor from the Galaxy S22 Ultra and there was said to be improvements coming to the under-display camera, though neither of these happened. The front camera was also claimed to be getting an update to a 12-megapixel sensor to match that of the Galaxy S23, but again, that transpired to be just a rumour.
When it comes to the results, though, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 4's cameras perform with a good balance of colour and quality between the lenses. There are some clever features that elevate the experience too, such as using the cover screen as the camera's monitor, therefore meaning you can use the rear cameras to take selfies rather than the under-display camera or the front camera. The under-display camera is a 4-megapixel sensor and it's not the best on either device, while the front camera is a 10-megapixel sensor that performs well enough. If you're smart though, you will use the rear cameras to take your selfies and use the cover display to make sure you are getting the angle you want.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 brings a refined design compared to its predecessor. The ability to fold completely flat is refreshing, and it's something that competitors now offer so it was really needed here to remain competitive. It also looks great and marks a decent distinction between these two folding phones. There are also some internal upgrades, as you would expect, and while this comes mainly in the form of the chipset, this in turn offers battery improvements too.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
On the whole, aside from the design improvements and processor upgrade, there aren't huge differences between the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4. If you have the Z Fold 4, we would recommend holding off on upgrading this time around. If you are choosing between these models, then the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the clear winner when it comes to design and performance, though it is more expensive so if you're happy with the gap and you are good to have last year's flagship Snapdragon hardware, you could opt for the Z Fold 4 to save cash.
