Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hands-on review: Three upgrades that make a notable difference

If you’ve previously owned a foldable phone or you’ve long been tempted to make the switch from the flagship phone you carry every day, then the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is aimed at you. 

At first glance, the Fold 5 doesn’t look much different than last year’s model, but there are significant changes that make this a more usable, durable, and productive foldable phone than the others on the market.

Also: Samsung mobile boss expects foldables to account for more premium phone sales

It still may not be worth buying for you, but it’s likely going to be more tempting than any foldable you’ve seen so far. Samsung President TM Roh said that 50% of smartphone users are considering an upgrade to a foldable, according to data Samsung follows closely. If that’s accurate, the new version of Samsung’s flagship foldable is refined enough to be a tipping point for a lot more buyers.

Let’s talk about what’s new in the Fold 5 and who can benefit from it the most.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The latest phone-to-tablet foldable from the Galaxy maker features a lighter and thinner design, among other small changes that add up.

The 3 key upgrades

The Fold 5 doesn’t have flashy new features like the Flex Window on Samsung’s new Flip 5 or major design departures like the square-ish form factor of Google’s Pixel Fold. But while those kinds of big changes grab headlines, they can turn out to be more gimmicky than useful over time. 

Instead, Samsung gave a vote of confidence to the candy bar form factor of its high-end foldable that first launched in 2019. With the fifth generation of this phone, Samsung focused on three key improvements:

ZDNET’s buying advice

If you’re considering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 as your first foldable then it’s better to think of it as a 7-inch tablet that you fold up and put in your pocket than to compare it to phones like the Galaxy S23 Ultra or the iPhone 14 Pro Max. If you’ve ever had experience with 7-inch tablets like the iPad Mini, Google Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire 7 and loved the form factor because it’s more portable than most tablets and more versatile than most phones, then the Fold 5 could be a great option for you.

If you’ve already owned a foldable phone and been bummed out by limitations like the durability, bulkiness, and awkwardness of the hardware and software, then the Fold 5 is arguably the most refined foldable released so far. Compared to other foldables, it feels much further along in the process of becoming a polished consumer product. The fact that the Galaxy Fold has so much momentum in the enterprise — with 105% growth year over year in 2022, according to Samsung — is further evidence that its reputation as a powerful productivity device is expanding.

Also: Best Samsung phones you can buy (including the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5)

While some professionals and tech enthusiasts have been attracted by the more book-like form factors of the Microsoft Surface Duo and the Google Pixel Fold, Samsung has stuck with its candy bar form factor that is easier to operate with one hand when it’s folded. 

Clearly, Samsung believes that the long, slim outer display is great for checking notifications, quick messaging, and making phone calls. But, it still thinks you’ll want to spend most of your time on the full 7.6-inch screen. And that makes perfect sense because it’s the main benefit of buying and using a foldable phone. 

With that in mind, those of you who will most benefit from using a Fold 5 will be those who spend time a lot of time on the go, such as commuting on a train or bus, sitting in the car waiting to pick up your kids, and/or zipping around town for meetings or gigs. If you have complex work to do while you’re on the go — such as video calls, handling spreadsheets, working in project management docs, and other forms of complicated multitasking where you are communicating and looking at docs at the same time — then the Fold 5 could save you time, make you more efficient, and help you function at full capacity on the go. 

Also: Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 has a new screen layering design, and it’s a big deal

If you spend most of your time at your desk and use a computer all day long to handle your most important tasks, then you probably won’t get much benefit out of the Fold 5 and are better off with a traditional smartphone. 

If you do decide to buy a Fold 5, then there’s a version I’d recommend above the others after going hands-on with the various colors and finishes. Order the online-exclusive color of either gray (closer to off-white) or blue. In addition to the blue or gray matte finish, these two colors also come with a deep gray finish on the metal parts of the phone that also has a matte finish. 

Also: Samsung Unpacked: Where to preorder and find the best deals

In my experience handling the phones, the matte finish attracts fewer fingerprints and has a more tactile and less slippery feel than the standard glossy finishes. With the matte versions, you could probably get away without using a case, which would let you fully benefit from the slimmer form factor of the Fold 5.

Disclosure: The cost of Jason Hiner’s travel to South Korea for Unpacked was covered by Samsung, a common industry practice for long distance trips. The judgments and opinions of ZDNET’s writers and editors are always independent of the companies we cover.