Our first review of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 took place online several weeks ago and we’ve been using the device ever since. What do we notice about the foldable phone, after we’ve been testing it for a while? You can read it here in our review update for the Z Flip 5.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 review update

We were allowed to hold the Galaxy Z Flip 5 for much longer than usual, so we continued using it after we posted our initial review. For this part of our experiments, we tested the device extensively for more than a week and used it in (practical) everyday life, so we can make a good judgment.

We are now several weeks later. In this review update, we’re looking at things that, in our opinion, might deserve some extra attention. So we will focus less on the hard specs, but more on the user experience.

Samsung has made the review sample of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 available.

Bigger screen on the outside is beautiful…

Samsung almost screamed from the rooftops. One of the biggest changes to the Z Flip 5 from its predecessor is the much larger screen on the outside. This makes it more useful for viewing information such as the weather forecast, cycle information, incoming notifications, calls, and information about the music you play with the device.

It’s true and we’ve been using it a lot in recent weeks. Just skip some music, check the agenda, or what the weather will do tomorrow because of the day off. It works well and well and offers more options than the smaller screens of its predecessors, where it was sometimes more difficult.

…but very limited in terms of standard options

However, this is not the case in our experience, simply because you can only use Samsung widgets on the screen by default. You are therefore reasonably bound by the choices the Company makes available to you for its use. Fortunately, you can choose a few apps via Settings to also use them on the Cover Screen.

This way you can start using WhatsApp, Netflix, Google Maps or YouTube, which usually work just fine. Samsung does not allow you to work with other applications, such as those in Android Planet, Instagram or the Gallery application for example. Fortunately, it’s possible via a third-party app that you can download for free from the Play Store, but as far as we’re concerned, it’s still something Samsung can do as standard.

The screen fold continues to look and feel

The screen inside exudes the quality we know from Samsung. It is a color Amoled display with high contrast. The Flip 5 phone can be folded completely, because the fold between the two halves of the screen no longer exists, which is the first time for the South Korean company.

This is made possible by a different type of hinge, but the fold in the screen can still be felt and seen. It’s true that you don’t hover over it often, for example because of the virtual keyboard, which appears in the part below the fold. In recent weeks, it didn’t necessarily bother us, but sometimes the light fell on it in a way that made it very visible.

Samsung please stick with Snapdragon

The Z Flip 5 is equipped with a top-end processor from the manufacturer Qualcomm, not the proprietary Exynos chip. Rumors about the successors say that a healer will be chosen from their stable again, which is not necessary for us. The hardware is powerful enough for any task and game and multitasking is not an issue.

For the rest, the device is fully equipped, such as an NFC chip for wireless payment, stereo speakers and a nice fingerprint scanner. In the past few weeks, everything has gone flawlessly, as it should.

The cameras on this foldable phone aren’t the company’s best yet, but it has a lot to offer for shooting photos in all kinds of conditions. You can take great pictures with the primary camera, and the wide-angle lens can do quite well.

You can take photos with a depth of field effect and, for example, make video calls by placing the device down and opening it halfway. It’s features like this that Samsung is focusing on in major ad campaigns, but we’re clearly not quite the target audience. We haven’t used it for the past few weeks.

Shipping is available and will not remain from this time

Battery life has also been excellent in recent weeks, and getting through the day wasn’t a problem at all, just as we wrote in our initial review. However, it remains that shipping in 2023 could really be a lot faster.

And supplying the device with battery juice is only 25 watts, which means that the company lags far behind competitors. Samsung isn’t great at this yet, but we really expect more in this price range.

Closing thoughts

Samsung itself is focusing more on the Flip 5 than on the Z Fold 5, which the company itself has said is a truly niche product. Logical, because the starting price of the large foldable device is 1,900 euros. The Flip 5 isn’t exactly cheap at €1,199, but it’s one of the best foldable With this form factor on the market.

The Z Flip 5 is now crammed in here waiting for the courier, while we wait to see what Samsung has to offer in the next round. The company is considered one of the largest companies in this field foldable, but competitors like Motorola, Opo or OnePlus are lurking. Overall, the Flip 5 is a nice device, but there are (quite a lot) things it could handle.

Buy Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

You pay for the version with 256GB of internal storage 1199 euros. That’s four decades more than last year. There is also a version with 512 GB of storage. It has a suggested retail price 1319 euros. It is of course also possible to combine the Galaxy Z Flip 5 with a subscription.

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