[Updated on 26th July, 2023]
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is now official, and the launch event confirms the IPX8 rating, which means you will have to wait for dust resistance to be added. Apart from that, the rest has proven to be true
[Original story]
The Galaxy Z Fold5 is basically a Galaxy Z Fold4 with the latest 8 Gen2 chip and the new hinge that makes the phone close without a gap.
This fifth-generation foldable from Samsung is set to be unveiled in late July this year. According to reports, the Z Fold 5 will be available in three colors – Beige, Black, and Light Blue. However, they may name the colors differently.
Improvements over the Z Fold 4
Benefits of gap-less hinge on Z Fold 5
The Z Fold 5 finally comes with a waterdrop hinge design, which allows the phone to shut completely. The new hinge design offers a number of benefits.
The look and feel – When folded, the hinge side doesn’t appear thicker than the other side, and the phone also rests flat on the table. This new hinge design improves the look and feel of the device compared to last year’s model.
Thinner and lightweight – The Z Fold 5 boasts a uniform thickness of 13.4 mm, while the Z Fold 4 measures 15.8 mm on the hinge side and 14.2 mm on the other. The new hinge design makes it significantly slimmer and of uniform thickness. Additionally, the Z Fold 5 appears to be 10 grams lighter than the previous model.
Software features
The taskbar now supports 4 recent apps for a seamless multitasking experience. The drag and drop functionality has been there for quite a while, but with the Z Fold 5, it has been improved further. Now, you can copy and paste images across different applications using both hands. Hold the image using one finger and navigate to another application using another from the taskbar.
A better chipset – more power and higher efficiency
The whole purpose of a foldable is to have a bigger display for multitasking. The Z Fold 5 brings the 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, the same as the S23 Ultra, which is expected to handle heavy tasks better than the previous year’s model with the 8+ Gen 1.
The 8 Gen 2 chipset also brings power efficiency improvements, which may offer a better battery life on the Z Fold 5.
Things that stays nearly the same
Crease on the display
The new hinge design makes us think that the fifth generation of Samsung’s foldable is finally going to match the competition in terms of the display crease. But seemingly, the display crease still persists, almost similar to the predecessor.
Although the crease doesn’t appear as noticeable as in the images all the time when you’re using it, it’s still there, and when light falls on the crease from the side, it catches the eye.
Cameras
Apparently, the cameras on the Z Fold 5 are going to be the same as last year, i.e., a 50MP main sensor and a 10MP telephoto, both with OIS, and a 12MP ultrawide.
The main camera was rumored to have the same 108MP ISOCELL HM3 sensor as the S22 Ultra and also a 64MP sensor for the 3x telephoto. But, we will have to wait for at least the next generation for a camera upgrade.
Display panel
Reportedly, the display panels also remain the same as last year’s Z Fold 4. A 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel for the inner display with QHD+ resolution and a 6.2-inch outer display with FHD+ resolution.
Pricing
The Galaxy Z fold 5 costs $1799 for the base 256GB variant in the US.
Final take
A foldable Samsung device has its key selling point in its software experience. Since the Z Fold 4 is identical in this regard and there aren’t a lot of hardware improvements this time around, it’s recommended to wait for the Fold 6, especially considering the similar crease and the familiar camera hardware on the Fold 5.
However, if you do need at least some sort of dust resistance due to your specific use cases, or if you happen to have a desire for that complete shut look with Samsung’s software experience, then the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 becomes a great choice.
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