Foldable phones are all the rage now, but Samsung, a pioneer in the game, continues raising the bar with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The new foldable works out a few design kinks in the previous model to deliver a sleek piece of tech that is a delight to use.

What immediately stands out is the 3.4″ cover screen, which essentially gives you half an extra phone’s worth of screen space to work with. That’s a definite upgrade from the tiny window on the Flip 4 for sure.

The actual viewable area on this screen is also approximately 95% of the full rectangular area, which combined with the eight-button, customisable control centre and brightness controls, makes it more functional.

A larger cover screen also makes it handy to get updates on the go without having to open up the phone. With a collection of useful widgets and access to a full keyboard, you can reply to WhatsApp messages and run some apps with the phone still folded.

It’s also the first in the Galaxy Z Flip series with a proximity sensor and High Brightness Mode (HBM), offering a peak brightness of 1600 nits for a luminous display.

Another welcome upgrade is the redesigned hinge that folds flat without the noticeable gap on one side of the previous version. Still, its bulky frame means you won’t be able to flip it shut with a satisfying snap with just one hand.

The annoying crease that’s the bane of all foldable devices still hasn’t completely disappeared, but it’s less noticeable on the Flip 5 – the day smartphone makers figure out how to eliminate this will be a feat of design and engineering, so it’s nice to see the improvements.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 has a 6.7″ main display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which makes for a crisp and responsive experience when watching videos or browsing the web.

Another thing of note is its improved durability thanks to the Armor Aluminum, which is stronger and more resistant to scratches and dents.

The phone survived a fall from a dining table with barely a dent and zero scratches. Still, I would not recommend using it without a case as the sleek finish does make it quite slippery to handle.

While we love an always-on display, it drains the 3700mAh battery more than I’d like it to.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is powered by a superior Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor, one of the most powerful on the market.

One of my favourite features from on the Galaxy Z Flip series is the FlexCam, which was already compatible with apps like Instagram and Facebook for hands-free photos and videos.

The Flip 5 gets a Gen Z upgrade with Dual Preview, which lets your friends see themselves in the Flex Window so they can make adjustments in real-time to strike that Insta-worthy pose.

Otherwise, Flex Mode, with a set of controls to use the phone in an L-shaped laptop mode, is fun to use on apps that support it, like Instagram. I can picture it being used for a spontaneous livestream on Instagram or TikTok.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with an AI-powered image signal processing (ISP) algorithm that is supposed to correct any visual noise that typically spoils low-light images. However, this was very hit-and-miss in my experience taking pictures of a candlelight dinner.

While there are at least three different ways to take pictures on the Samsung Flip 5, taking selfies on the 10-megapixel front-facing camera was still my least favourite.

Thankfully, the bigger cover screen on the Flip 5 made taking selfies without opening my phone a breeze.

The main selling point for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is still its fun factor. It’s simply a cool phone.

But what’s different from the last year’s Samsung foldables is the competition. Now, users could choose from the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra, Google Pixel Fold or the Oppo Find N2 Flip.

So the novelty is definitely wearing off, but Samsung’s head start in foldable technology means the Flip 5 is still the best on the market.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: the details

Name Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

Price 

£999 for 128GB

£1,059 for 256GB

£1,199 for 512GB

What’s good

• Bigger cover screen
• No gap at the hinges
• Better processor

What’s bad

• Average battery life
• Not dust-resistant

Where can I buy it The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is available now from Samsung and on all major UK networks

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