Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is here: Price, specs, features, all you need to know

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is here! In 2023, this phone is now the best clamshell-style, folding Android phone from Samsung. It features a wealth of hardware upgrades over its predecessor, some new software tricks, and a brand new design.

Below, you’ll find everything you could possibly want to know about Samsung’s foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip 5!

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Release date, price, and availability

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Flip 5 on July 26, 2023. The launch event occurred in Seoul, Samsung’s home city. This is the first time Samsung has launched a foldable in Seoul and is one of the very few times the company has held an Unpacked event in Asia.

At this same event, Samsung also launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Galaxy Tab S9 series, and the Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic.

Price

In the United States, the unlocked Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at the same price as the last few generations: $999. That price gets you the base model, which has 256GB of internal storage. This is noteworthy because the Galaxy Z Flip 4 started at the same price but only came with 128GB of storage. That’s a good upgrade! If you need even more space, there is also an unlocked 512GB model.

Samsung’s partnerships with the major US wireless carriers also continue. The new clamshell foldable will be available at Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and some of those carriers’ major MVNOs. Depending on the carrier, there could be exclusive perks, trade-in offers, and other promotions, so be sure to shop around. Samsung itself is currently offering a huge trade-in deal, shedding $900 off the phone’s price if you own an older Samsung device.

Outside the United States, the unlocked Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will start at £1,049 in the UK and €1,199 in Europe. Want more storage? Then the 512GB variant will set you back £1,149 and €1,319 respectively.

If you live elsewhere, you might be able to find the Galaxy Z Flip 5 at a much lower price.

Availability and pre-orders

Globally, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 pre-orders opened on July 26. General purchase sales are two weeks later, on August 11, 2023.

As usual, pretty much every country around the world will be able to buy a Galaxy Z Flip 5. That includes all the heavy hitters, such as the United States, Canada, all of Europe and the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, India, etc. Generally, no matter where you live, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 should be there.

Samsung is also offering pre-order bonuses via its online store. With an eligible trade-in, buyers can receive up to $900 off the Galaxy Z Flip 5. There’s also 30% off Samsung’s repair and insurance service, Samsung Care Plus, and a free upgrade from the 256GB model to the 512GB variant.

Colors

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has four main colorways: Graphite, Cream, Lavender, and Mint. Samsung will also have online-exclusive colors: Gray, Blue, Green, and Yellow. Not all countries will see all colorways, though. Also, do note that there will be no Bespoke editions of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, like the ones we saw with the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Features

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a new look, some new hardware, and a few new tricks up its sleeve. Here is what you need to know.

Cameras

Unfortunately, this is one of two areas where the new Z Flip device sees almost no hardware improvements. There are still two cameras on the back of the phone, and they are still a 12MP wide and a 12MP ultrawide. The underlying hardware of these cameras is the same as Galaxy Z Flip 4, too. In other words, there should be few differences between the photo/video quality — if any — and don’t expect it to challenge the very best camera phones.

Samsung did point out that it updated the spray coating over the rear lenses. This new coating should help prevent lens flares. However, this is undoubtedly an insignificant upgrade.

Likewise, the 10MP selfie camera — which lives in a centered display cutout at the top of the inner display — has the same hardware. Of course, Samsung doesn’t think you’ll use this camera much, as taking selfies with the rear cameras through the phone’s outer display is a much better option.

Software features

The outer display was formerly known as the Cover Display. Samsung has changed this branding, so the outer display is now the Flex Window. The Flex Window on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is much larger and shaped differently than the Cover Display on older Flips.

Because of this increase in outer display real estate, you can do more than ever with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 without needing to unfold it. First, Samsung is launching the phone with 13 widgets specifically catered to use on the Flex Window. These allow you to perform quick tasks like taking a selfie using the rear cameras, responding to a text message, or paying for something using Samsung Wallet — all without unfolding the device. Thanks to the increased size of the display, there is full keyboard support for these widgets.

In addition to these 13 widgets, some apps appear in the “Labs” section of the Flex Window launcher. Google Maps and WhatsApp are two notable products that appear here. By enabling these apps in Labs, you can use full versions of them on the Flex Window. Obviously, since they are in a section called Labs, you might face some issues here and there.

There will also be a Good Lock-based system. Using this, you can launch any app you want on the Flex Window. How functional that app might be on the tiny screen will vary, but it could allow power users to make the most of the outer display’s usefulness.

The Flex Window also has some new customization features. You can change the color scheme to better match your phone’s colorway or your vibe at that particular moment. There is also NFC support for first-party cases. The Samsung Flipsuit Case, for example, automatically changes the color scheme of the Flex Window to match the case as soon as you snap it on.

All the other software features you’ve enjoyed from previous Z Flips appear here, too. That includes Flex Mode, the ability to prop the phone in a halfway-unfolded state for hands-free photographs, etc.

For the update policy, Samsung has committed to four Android upgrades and five years of security patches for the Galaxy Z Flip 5. Since it launched with Android 13, it will see upgrades to Android 17 in 2026.

Performance

Inside the Galaxy Z Flip 5, you’ll find the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset. This is the same overclocked system on a chip (SoC) inside the Galaxy S23 series. That automatically makes the Galaxy Z Flip 5 one of the top-performing Android smartphones on the market right now.

Of course, there’s more to performance than just the SoC. Paired with that SoC, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 offers 8GB of RAM, which isn’t bad. However, other phones offer a lot more, with 12GB being a standard spec for phones in the $1,000 bracket. While 8GB of RAM will be more than enough for everyday smartphone tasks, power users who need a lot of computationally intensive apps open or heavy gamers will likely face some bottlenecks.

No matter how you look at it, for typical smartphone use cases — snapping photos, watching YouTube, messaging friends, browsing social media, etc. — the Galaxy Z Flip 5 will not disappoint in any way. It has the power necessary to be a stable daily driver.

Displays

The outer display is the most prominent upgrade to this year’s Z Flip. The display — formerly known as the Cover Display but now called the Flex Window — is larger than ever. At 3.4 inches, the display is almost twice as big as the 1.9-inch Cover Display on the Galaxy Z Flip 4.

Along with being larger, the Flex Window has a new shape. Rather than the rounded rectangle of years past, the display is shaped like a folder icon, with a notch at the top left. Samsung says this gives the back of the phone a symmetrical look since the dual-camera module fills up the rest of the area.

Thanks to the larger size, the display has a higher resolution than previous Galaxy Z Flip phones. It’s still pretty low compared to “regular” phone displays — it’s just 720p — but it’s still an upgrade and a decent resolution for a display of this size. Note that it still has a 60Hz refresh rate, though.

Inside, the foldable display is pretty much unchanged from the 2022 model. It’s a 6.7-inch OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a 1080p resolution. One minor upgrade Samsung introduced is a new screen protector. Allegedly, it uses a superior adhesive that is better at preventing bubbling and other issues. Gorilla Glass Victus 2 covers the Flex Window and the other rear panel of the phone. If you feel the phone lacks a little protection, you can purchase a third-party Galaxy Z Flip 5 screen protector for the foldable display and Flex Window.

Design and build quality

Obviously, the new Flex Window is the most notable design change this year. However, another very welcome design change is the phone’s hinge. Thanks to a new teardrop design, the hinge allows both halves of the phone to shut fully flat. That means there is no more gap between each half when the phone is folded.

Along with better preventing dust and debris from getting onto the inner display, the flat-folding hinge makes the phone 2mm thinner when you fold it up. This increases pocketability, which is nice.

If you’re worried about durability with a phone that folds flat, Samsung has thought about this. There’s a protective strip that runs around the inner display that gives a very small amount of space between each half of the phone when folded. This will be helpful if you have a tiny grain of sand on the inner display, as folding the phone won’t crush that grain into the display. Obviously, this will only work for very small particles — you’ll still need to keep larger debris from getting stuck to the inner display.

Speaking of durability, the hinge uses fewer moving parts, which Samsung claims will help with longevity. However, the phone is still only rated for 200,000 folds, which is the same as we’ve seen for other recent Samsung foldables.

Early on, there were rumors the Galaxy Z Flip 5 could get a full IP68 rating. However, that didn’t come to pass. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is IPX8-rated, which is the same as the Galaxy Z Flip 4. This means the phone is protected against immersion in shallow water, even when submersed for up to 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the “X” means there is no rating against dust, so you’ll need to be careful at beaches and other similar places.

As with all previous Flip phones, the fingerprint scanner is a capacitive groove on the side of the phone. Neither of its displays features an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Battery and charging

As with the camera specs, this is another disappointing category for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. In 2023, Samsung introduced no changes to the battery or charging speeds.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 battery is a 3,700mAh cell, which is notably smaller even compared to the vanilla Galaxy S23‘s battery. It charges at a relatively slow 25W with the included USB-C cable connected to a supported charger, which does not come in the box. The phone can also charge wirelessly with any Qi-compatible charger and supports reverse wireless charging.

Thankfully, the inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset should, theoretically, allow for better battery life than what we saw with the Galaxy Z Flip 4. However, with the new Flex Window — a larger and higher resolution outer display than the previous model had — those gains could be a wash. We’ll need to put the phone through our usual testing before we can say anything definitive about battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: Specs

FAQ