Samsung has noticed a significantly higher sales volume of their Flip phones compared to the larger foldable ones. Statistically, more than 70% of the total foldable phones sold last year from Samsung were the Flip devices.
The main point of a flip device is compactness which the Z Flip 5 implements pretty well. On the other side, the Z Fold 5 is targeted for multitasking and productivity, and there are portable laptops available for the same price with houses much hogher multitasking capabilities.
The improvements on the Z Fold 5 over the Z Fold 4 may still not be appealing enough for a wide range of users.
Compactness matters
At the end of the day, these devices are phones that are meant to be carried in hand and pocket. While the Z Flip 5 makes it easy to toss in the pocket or to keep in hand, the Z Fold 5 still don’t. They are bulkier and still heavier than most other mainstream devices.
People’s preference suggests that the in-hand feel matters, maybe even more than the productivity advantages of a folding device with a large display.
Z Fold 5 is a lot more expensive tha the Z Flip 5
While the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is available for $999, the larger foldable contender costs you a whopping $1799, which may be a barrier to many people, to enter the world that folds in half, especially when there are concerns regarding the reliability of the folding mechanism.
For comparison, it’s a lot easier to take the experience of a folding device with the relatively cheaper Flip models.
Z Fold 5 aims for multitasking, and it isn’t the most capable tool for that.
While the flip devices deliver the best compact experience without sacrificing much, the tablet-sized foldables cannot say ‘nobody does it better’ about their multitasking capabilities. Both the two form factors use similar technologies, but the Fold devices claim more than they really is, and here’s the difference with the Flip ones.
Sure, the customized software of the foldable device does help with multitasking like the taskbar on Samsung foldables now keeps four recent applications right up front for convenient switching, but they are nowhere near a replacement for PCs when it comes to multitasking tools.
