Surprising no one at an event that used a flip phone as its promo pic, Samsung has announced another flip phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The 5 is cuter, tougher, and more user-friendly than its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, but there’s also a little bit more to it.
Both the Flip and Fold come off the back of some pretty extensive Aussie research, Samsung vice president of mobile experience Garry McGregor said. He reckons that the number one reason why Australians love the Flip is because it can fit in your pocket. That’s true – it squeezes pretty OK into the front of my jeans, a space that has been unusable since the inception of the women’s pant. But it also opens up to be a ‘normal’-sized phone.
But McGregor said it’s also because of the style and the design of the phone. Recently I gushed about the Oppo Find N2 Flip because it sent shots of nostalgia through my hands and triggered that little part in my brain that reminded me of the magenta Motorola Razr V3. Upon holding the Galaxy Z Flip 5, I got a similar feeling, but Samsung’s done something extra, it’s made the flip phone very pretty.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
As you can tell by its name, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is Samsung’s fifth go at a phone that flips. Samsung is focusing on three things with this year’s Flip: portability (what it calls ‘pocketability’), the camera, and the ‘Flex’ window.
Flippin’ good features
Samsung loves making up names, but the Flex window is the screen you see when the phone is closed. This year, the Flex window gets a pretty massive upgrade, going from taking up maybe one-third of the space to almost all of it (3.4-inch).
The Flex window is customisable, think animations/widgets/apps/clock faces etc, but you can also properly reply to messages from the phone closed. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s Flex window gets a full QWERTY keyboard, meaning you can respond how you would normally, not just via prompts.
Pairing with the Flex window is the Flex hinge, which in normal words sees Samsung completely redesign the Galaxy Z Flip 5 hinge to be more durable, giving the phone zero gap around the hinge when it’s closed. This definitely makes the phone feel more premium over last year’s model. It also makes the phone 2mm thinner than the Z Flip 4.
The crease is also less visible than the 2022 model.
The camera has also been enhanced this year. The Flip camera system has the same sensor tech as the S23. The camera also boasts Samsung’s AI tech, think multi-frame processing (takes multiple pics and combines them into one to give the best shot) and AI object aware engine (which detects objects etc within a photo). Elsewhere, the pixels are three-times larger than on the S23, camera lets in more light – something I will be testing at length so stay tuned for that in my review (coming soon).
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Specs
In addition to the above, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 has:
- Inner/Main display: 6.7-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Infinity Flex Display (2640 x 1080)
- Refresh rate: 120Hz
- Outer/Cover display: 3.4-inch Super AMOLED Display (720 x 748)
- Dimensions: 71.9 x 165.1 x 6.9mm (unfolded), 71.9 x 85.1 x 15.1 mm (folded, hinge)
- Weight: 187 grams
- Camera system: Ultra Wide 12 MP, Wide 12 MP, selfie-cam 10 MP
- Processor: 4nm Octa-Core Processor
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
- SIM: One eSIM and one Nano SIM
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Storage: 512GB, 256GB (no 128GB option this year)
- Battery: 3,700mAh dual battery
- Connectivity: 5G
- OS: Android 13
- Colours: Graphite, Cream, Mint, Lavender.
Australian pricing and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will cost:
- RRP $1,649 for 256GB
- RRP $1,849 for 512GB.
Head over here for our wrap-up of all the Galaxy Z Flip 5 preorder plans available now, and here’s where you can find the cheapest prices.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be available for pre-order in Australia from July 26, with general availability starting August 18.
Samsung also has a deal going called ‘love it or swap it’ which will allow you to swap the Galaxy Z Flip (of Galaxy Z Fold) within 30 days for a Galaxy S23+ (or S23 Ultra if it’s the Fold) for $1 if you aren’t sold on a phone with a crease.
Samsung also used Galaxy Unpacked to unleash its new Galaxy Z Fold 5, Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic, and the Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, and S9 Ultra.
Asha Barbaschow travelled to Seoul as a guest of Samsung Australia.