Categories: Tech

Galaxy Foldable Face-Off: How Samsung’s Z Fold 5 Compares to Its Predecessors

The Samsung Galaxy Fold phone was first introduced in 2019.

Samsung

Samsung unveiled the latest version of its flagship foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, in July. It features a new, gapless hinge and a speedier processor, but it keeps the same $1,800 price tag as last year’s model, the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

The latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes in the lighter and slimmer design teased by T.M. Roh, the president of Samsung’s mobile division. The Z Fold 5 weighs 253 grams (8.92 ounces), which represents a 10-gram decrease from last year’s Z Fold 4 and an 18-gram decrease from the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Galaxy Z Fold 5 deals See at CNET

The Z Fold 5 is 13.46 mm thick when folded closed, making it 2.44mm slimmer than its predecessor. Despite Samsung’s progress, the world’s thinnest foldable phone is the Honor V2, made by Huawei’s former subsidiary Honor. The Honor V2 is 9.9mm thick when in phone mode, but that foldable is only available in China.

Watch this: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Is Thinner, Lighter and Gapless 08:09

The key to the Fold 5’s more portable design is what Samsung calls the flex hinge, which allows for a more streamlined construction with fewer moving parts. The new hinge also makes way for both displays to fold completely flat.

The new gapless hinge for the Z Fold 5 received the most attention at Galaxy Unpacked.

Samsung/GIF by Arielle Burton/CNET

Apart from this, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 received a series of incremental improvements such as the newest Snapdragon processor and a brighter internal screen (1,750 nits). It’s the brightest screen on any Z Fold. There’s also support for three SIMs, and the upgraded hinge. For more specifics, check out the details in CNET’s specs chart below for a side-by-side comparison.

Z Fold 5 vs. Z Fold 4 vs. Z Fold 3

	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 5G	Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G
Screen	Cover: 6.2-inch AMOLED (2,316 x 904 pixels), 1-120Hz; internal: 7.6-inch AMOLED (2,176 x 1,812 pixels), 1-120Hz	Cover: 6.2-inch (2,316 x 904; internal: 7.6-inch AMOLED (2,176 x 1,812 pixels)	Cover: 6.2-inch AMOLED (2,268 x 832 pixels); internal: 7.6-inch AMOLED (2,208 x 1,768 pixels)
Pixel density	Cover: 402 ppi, internal: 374 ppi	Cover: 402 ppi, internal: 374 ppi	Cover: 387 ppi, internal: 374 ppi
Size (inches)	Open: 6.1 x 5.11 x 0.24 in; closed: 6.1 x 2.64 x 0.53 in	Open: 6.11 x 5.12 x 0.25 in; closed: 6.11 x 2.64 x 0.62 in	Open: 5.04 x 6.22 x 0.25 mm; Closed: 2.64 x 6.22 x 0.63 in; hinge ~0.57in (sagging)
Size (mm)	Open: 154.94 x 129.79 x 6.1 mm; closed: 154.94 x 67.06 x 13.46 mm	Open: 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3 mm; closed: 155.1 x 67.1 x 15.8 mm	Open:128 x 158 x 6.4 mm; closed: 158 x 67 x 16 mm; hinge: ~14.4mm (sagging)
Weight	253 g (8.92 oz)	263 g (9.27 oz)	271 g (9.56 oz)
Operating system at launch	Android 13	Android 12L	Android 11
Cameras	50-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)	50-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (telephoto)	12-megapixel (ultrawide), 12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (telephoto)
Selfie cameras	4-megapixel (under display); 10-megapixel (cover screen)	4-megapixel (under display); 10-megapixel (cover screen)	4-megapixel (under display); 10-megapixel (front cover)
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	Snapdragon 8 Gen Plus 1	Snapdragon 888
RAM, storage	12GB + 256GB/512GB/1TB	12GB + 256GB/512GB/1TB	12GB + 256GB/512GB
Battery capacity	4,400 mAh (dual-battery)	4,400 mAh	4,400 mAh
Charging	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Features	5G-enabled, IPX8 water-resistance, S Pen support, 25W wired charging, wireless charging, wireless power share, triple SIM	5G, 30x space zoom camera, IPX8, 25-watt fast-charging (no in-box charger)	5G-enabled; Foldable display, 120Hz refresh rate (front cover and main display), water-resistance, S Pen support
US price	$1,800 (256GB)	$1,800	$1,800 (256GB); $1,900 (512GB)
UK price	£1,749	£1,549	£1,599 (256GB); £1,699 (512GB)
Australian price	AU$2,559	Converts to AU$2,970	AU$2,499 (256GB); AU$2,649 (512GB)