Samsung Galaxy Flip5 review

This winter I tested the Galaxy Flip5, which Samsung launched in August at Galaxy Unpacked 2023. This fifth-generation folding flagship received plenty of design updates and improved features. It isn’t the first Galaxy Flip I’ve tried — last year I briefly tested the Galaxy Flip4, but this time I’m joining the Flip side for longer. Enjoy! 😉

Design

The moment you see the Galaxy Flip5, its elaborate design catches the eye. The 6.7-inch phone folds in half into a medium-sized square (8.5 × 7.2 cm). Holding the Galaxy Flip5 drew plenty of attention from people around me. I won't lie — sometimes I'd flip the screen open demonstratively. 😄 Every acquaintance, like a small child, couldn't wait to fold and unfold the Galaxy Flip5 and look closely at the magic of a folding display.

The phone hasn't changed in size, though folded it's become slightly thinner thanks to the new Flex hinge design, which leaves no gap between the screen halves. This update gives the Galaxy Flip5's folding display extra protection from dust and other small particles.

The biggest design change is the new Flex Window — a larger 3.4-inch cover display that makes using the phone easier without opening it. More on that shortly.

The exterior is covered in glossy Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and the body is made from reinforced Armor Aluminium, more resistant to scratches and drops than ordinary aluminium. This is the third year Samsung's folding phones have carried an IPX8 water resistance rating. The Galaxy Flip5 comes in Mint, Lavender, Cream, Graphite and Grey, with 256 GB or 512 GB of storage.

Displays

Like any Samsung folding flagship, the Galaxy Flip5 has two screens: a 6.7-inch main display and a 3.4-inch cover one. The latter has grown by a full 1.5 inches. The new Flex Window makes it convenient to use the phone without opening it. On it you can reach the control panel and the main widgets — Galaxy Buds controls, calendar, weather, timer, calculator, voice recorder — as well as view and reply to notifications and control music. With Good Lock you can force any app to open there, though Good Lock isn't officially available in Lithuania.

The main display is 6.7 inches, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, with a smooth 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ and 1,750 nits peak brightness. It's bright, extremely colourful and contrasty, perfect for films, social media browsing or gaming. What I didn't like was the slightly too elongated aspect ratio, which the Galaxy Flip4 also had — watching 16:9 content leaves large black bars at the sides. I'd add that the narrowness slightly distorts app content: in messaging apps, for instance, text wraps to a new line more often than on wider screens. I'm a fan of wider formats and prefer the 19.5:9 ratio of the Galaxy S23+. 😁

Cameras

The Galaxy Flip5 fits three cameras into its slim body: a 12 MP wide, a 12 MP ultra-wide and a 10 MP selfie camera. Physically nothing has changed, but there's a visible improvement in photo colour and contrast. The Galaxy Flip4 used to over-emphasise certain colours; the Galaxy Flip5's new camera algorithms have solved that. Of course, for a device costing this much you'd want better camera quality. I really missed a telephoto lens. The main lens can only zoom digitally up to 10x, and photo quality at that point is merely adequate.

The Galaxy Flip5 does stand out for selfie quality, though. The enlarged cover display makes it even easier to take selfies with the main cameras. Using the ultra-wide, I fitted more people into the frame. On the new cover display you can also switch between photo, portrait and video modes, set resolution, timer and effects, and change cameras. The Flex Window offers a quick photo preview, so you can conveniently check how a shot came out.

Now for my beloved Flex mode, which turns the Galaxy Flip5 into a camera with a stand. I tried this feature in my Galaxy Flip4 review too. Just put the phone on a flat surface, show your palm from a distance, and the phone captures the moment itself. And if you have a Galaxy Watch, its Camera Controller app lets you see a camera preview and take a photo or start recording. Beyond hands-free shooting, Flex mode lets you discover new photographic angles, hold the phone like a camcorder or shoot subjects from above. I'd name Flex mode the most useful advantage of the Flip design.

Flex mode is supported not only in the camera but in the Instagram and YouTube Shorts apps. The Galaxy Flip5 is excellent for creating short-form content.

The Flex experience

The larger Flex Window is now far more adaptable to your needs. Last year, using the Galaxy Flip4's cover display reminded me of operating a Galaxy Watch. This year brought a new interface that expands what you can do with the phone folded. On the main window you can fit various widgets, along with time, step and weather information. You can personalise it and add stylised photos of yourself or those close to you. Pinching with two fingers in the Flex Window brings up an overview of all widgets in Map view.

With the device open, Flex mode enables hands-free viewing, which is especially useful while exercising or cooking. A good number of apps, such as YouTube and Instagram, split into two halves. In YouTube you can watch the video on top and control playback or read comments below. In Instagram you see the camera preview on top and the camera controls and filters below. The improved Flex mode control panel also makes media control easier, letting you skip 10 seconds forward and back quickly.

Performance and battery

Inside the Galaxy Flip5 sits a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, optimised specifically for this phone. The processor performs smoothly, quickly and efficiently. Apps open fast and run smoothly and well optimised. No problems at all on the performance side.

The 3,700 mAh battery capacity and runtime were somewhat disappointing. The battery lasted me a full day, but no longer. The device needed charging every evening with a 25 W adapter (sold separately) or a 15 W wireless charger. Fast wired charging takes about an hour. Galaxy S23 series devices with the same processor last noticeably longer.

One UI

The Galaxy Flip5 runs the new Android 14 with the One UI 6.1 interface. I like Galaxy devices for their easily personalised environment and smooth performance. The recently introduced lock screen editing, for example, lets you personalise the phone further and see important information without unlocking it. There’s also smart, fast file sharing with Quick Share, which now works with most Android and Windows devices. Since the end of March 2024 the Galaxy Flip5 has had Galaxy AI features. I didn’t get to test the AI capabilities on this phone, but I’ve no doubt everything works as smoothly as it does on Galaxy S24 series devices.

Verdict: pros and cons

The Galaxy Flip5 is a very good phone. I’d recommend it to people who look after their devices. Smart features, Flex mode, the larger Flex Window and the recently arrived Galaxy AI set the Galaxy Flip5 apart from other models on the market. I’ve no doubt that if you buy this device, you’ll enjoy what it can do.