Galaxy Z Flip5 Hands-On: Why It Is My New Daily Driver

The Galaxy Z Flip5 is finally here, the smartphone I’ve been looking forward to all year. It has really cool features and a few things I’m critical of. First off: This time I don’t have to send the device back. That’s already refreshing for me. This text is based on my impression from the first few days with the device.

A beautiful, handy device

After the S23 Ultra, it’s a nice feeling to use a device that’s more pleasant to hold again. I unconsciously have it in my hand a lot more, because it fits so well in my palm. With the fifth Flip generation, Samsung has taken a big step forward in build quality.

That’s down to the new Flex hinge that the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Fold5 got. It lets the devices close completely, and they’re 2 mm thinner when folded. That sounds like little, but in the hand it makes a lot of difference, which already surprised me at the Unpacked event in Berlin. The devices also open much more smoothly.

The cover display is useful now

The elephant in the room: the much bigger cover display. Widgets are much easier to use with it, and you can use apps on it fully. Officially, so far that’s only a handful of selected apps, which you have to turn on in Settings under Labs:

• Google Maps
• Messages
• Netflix: why you’d watch that on such a small display, I don’t know, but better to have it than want it
• YouTube
• WhatsApp: my personal highlight. You can use it fully on the outer display and reply in full sentences with a full keyboard. With the Flip4, I was too lazy to open the phone every time. Problem solved.

The camera is great too: You get a big preview when you shoot video or photos with the main camera.

With Samsung’s Good Lock app, you get many more apps on the cover display, for example Instagram, the DB Navigator, Photos and Google Drive. That’s not always ideal, but better to have it than want it. Also practical is the gesture control for seeing all widgets at once. The cover display can be customized like a watch face, you can create new ones, and even set videos as the screen.

My tip: Set up face unlock so the outer display is unlocked right away. Otherwise you have to enter a PIN every time or hold the device so you can reach the fingerprint scanner. That doesn’t fit the purpose of using it quickly with one hand. For me, the cover display is definitely a game changer for everyday usability.

Processor, camera and battery

The Flip5 has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, which is also in the S23 Ultra. I’ve already praised the fast, smooth performance there, and it’s awesome that the Flip5 has it too. Thanks to the better processor, the camera shots are supposed to get much better too, because the camera itself is unchanged. I haven’t been able to test that in detail in the short time.

The battery is also supposed to be better. For many people that was a weak point on the Flip4. After a little more than two days, I can’t say much, I’m still in the honeymoon phase with lots of trying things out. In the first two days, screen-on time was about 3.5 hours, and there was noticeable heat. After four days, screen-on time is slowly heading toward four hours. It’s not a knockout yet, I’m hoping for improvement.

Display, back and accessories

Unfolded, the Flip5 has a more stable 6.7-inch AMOLED display with 120 Hz, according to Samsung. I think the crease has become a bit less noticeable, but it didn’t bother me with the Flip4 either.

I was surprised that the back is smooth again and no longer matte. That makes the device so slippery that, for the first time in a long while, I’m definitely using it with a case. In my Amazon store, I’ve put together the accessories I use privately, including a screen protector for the outer display. It’s a real display now, where I no longer don’t care about scratches as I did with the Flip4.

Verdict

The Galaxy Z Flip5 is more than a success. In my opinion, the cover display and the new processor alone make an upgrade worth it, even from the Flip4. The battery isn’t convincing yet after four days, and I’ll keep watching it. The Flip5 will also accompany me on the day I get married, even if it didn’t turn out quite as golden as I had hoped. Videos on the Galaxy Watch6 Classic and more reports on the Flip5 will follow.