Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Price, specs, features, and all you need to know

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has been around long enough that its successor, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is now available. Despite that, the Fold 5 is still one of the most premium Samsung foldables out there. Not only does it sit high in Samsung’s smartphone ranks, but it also is one of the most powerful foldable devices you can pick up right now.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5!

Galaxy Z Fold 5: Release date, price, colors, and availability

Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 5 at its Galaxy Unpacked event on July 26 in Seoul, Korea. This was the first time Samsung held a global Unpacked event for foldables in its home country.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 wasn’t the only foldable phone announced on the day, as the company also announced the Galaxy Z Flip 5 at the event. Furthermore, the brand launched the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 line at the showcase.

Price and availability

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 launched at $1,799 in the United States. That price gets you a 12GB/256GB variant. Want more storage? Then you can also get a 12GB/512GB model or a 12GB/1TB variant, setting you back $1,719.99 and $2,159.99, respectively.

Aside from the usual retailers in the US, the phone is also available via Samsung’s network partners. This includes AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and MVNOs. These partners often have their own pre-order perks and promotions, so you might want to check them all out before pulling the trigger on a purchase.

The Fold is also available in Europe and the UK starting at €1,899 and £1,749, respectively. The 512GB model will set you back €2,019 and £1,849, respectively. Meanwhile, the 1TB model is pegged at €2,259 in Europe and £2,049 in the UK. If you live in other countries, you might be able to find the Galaxy Z Fold 5 for much cheaper.

Samsung’s folding Android phones are the most widely available foldables in the world, and this applies to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 as well. You’ll find the Galaxy Z Fold 5 available in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and many more regions. That’s a huge difference from the likes of the Google Pixel Fold or the HONOR Magic V line, which have more limited releases.

Colors

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes in Cream, Icy Blue, and Phantom Black color options. The phone is also available in Gray and Blue via Samsung.com, although these colorways won’t be available in all countries.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Features

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 brings plenty of features to the table, as you’d expect from a pricey foldable. Here are the most notable features, although many will be familiar to you.

Camera

Those expecting brand-new cameras will undoubtedly be disappointed, as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 borrows its triple rear camera system from the Galaxy Z Fold 4. That means a 50MP main camera (ƒ/1.8, one-micron pixel size, OIS), a 12MP ultrawide lens (ƒ/2.2, 1.12-micron pixel size), and a 10MP 3x telephoto shooter (ƒ/2.4, 30x digital zoom, OIS).

Samsung is also offering the same 10MP selfie camera on the smartphone screen and the same 4MP under-display selfie camera on the folding screen.

The company is leaning on software tuning and the upgraded chipset to deliver improved image quality.

When we reviewed the Galaxy Z Fold 5, we noted that the primary 50MP camera is best left in its default state, wherein it produces 12MP binned images. Those shots look vibrant and sharp. Night mode is also solid. The 50MP phones feel dim and less detailed, but you can manually edit them with the Expert RAW mode.

Software features

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 came with One UI 5.1.1 atop Android 13 out of the box. But in November 2023, Samsung released the stable One UI 6 update based on Android 14.

One of the most notable additions to the phone’s software is the two-handed drag-and-drop functionality for file sharing between app windows. We also get up to four recent apps shown in the taskbar.

Otherwise, you’ve got the same foldable software experience here. That’s disappointing if you were hoping for loads of upgrades, but One UI is still arguably the best Android skin for foldables out there.

With the One UI 6.1 update, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 got a bunch of new Galaxy AI features common with the Galaxy S24 series.

For the update policy, Samsung also offers four major OS upgrades and five years of security patches — it doesn’t get any better than that in the Android world.

Performance

Undoubtedly the biggest improvement on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has to be the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy processor. This is the same chipset seen in the Galaxy S23 series, and we thought these phones delivered a ton of horsepower. Does the same performance translate to the foldable? Yes and no. In our Galaxy Z Fold 5 review, we enjoyed the high peak performance of the chipset, but it’s ultimately held back by aggressive throttling.

The new Fold is also equipped with 12GB of RAM, in line with its predecessor. This should be more than enough for most tasks and games. Otherwise, you’re getting 256GB of base storage, with 512GB and 1TB options.

Display

You shouldn’t expect any significant changes to the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s screens compared to 2022’s foldable. That means you’re stuck with the same 6.2-inch smartphone display (23.1:9 aspect ratio, 2,316 x 904) and the same 7.6-inch folding screen (21.6:18 aspect ratio, 2,176 x 1,812).

The smartphone screen’s aspect ratio means we’re stuck with the same tall and narrow display as the Galaxy Z Fold 4. This is ideal for scrolling through feeds, but rival foldables have adopted a more conventional aspect ratio closer to a traditional smartphone screen. It’s also worth noting that while Samsung has slightly reduced the size of the crease on the Z Fold 5’s folding display, it’s not a major difference.

If there is any consolation, it’s that the folding screen has a higher peak brightness this time around (1,700 nits). But we’re still at 1,250 nits for high brightness mode. Samsung isn’t touting tougher folding screens this year, either.

Design and build quality

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 does enjoy a slightly slimmer folded design compared to the Z Fold 4, but you’re looking at roughly the same dimensions when unfurled. Even when only taking the folded thickness into account, it’s not in contention for the thinnest foldable by any stretch of the imagination.

The last generation foldable still maintains that Armor Aluminum frame, complete with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the smartphone display and the rear cover. Samsung is also brought a new hinge to the table, enabling a zero-gap design in theory and a slightly thinner folded form factor.

You’ve still got an IPX8 rating, meaning the phone isn’t rated for dust resistance but is water resistant. Samsung says the phone is rated for 200,000 folds by Bureau Veritas, but there’s no word if this applies to the hinge only or the screen as well.

Battery

Another area that sees virtually no changes is the foldable’s battery, bringing the same 4,400mAh battery as last year’s Fold. This is paired with a more efficient processor, so we’re expecting slightly better endurance. Still, if you were unimpressed with the Fold 3 or Fold 4’s battery life, you shouldn’t hold your breath for game-changing improvements here.

Speaking of a lack of improvements, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 also sticks to 25W wired charging and Samsung’s Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 solution. And no, there’s no bundled charger, so you’ll need to purchase your own compatible charger.

Does the Galaxy Z Fold 5 come with an S Pen?

No, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn’t come with an S Pen in the box. Fortunately, you can buy one separately. The stylus is 41% thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 4 stylus.

Samsung is also selling a Slim S Pen Case, giving you a place to keep your S Pen. And yes, that means the Z Fold 5 doesn’t come with an integrated S Pen slot.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs

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