Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: Which foldable is best?

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 are Samsung’s latest foldables, but what’s the difference between them, and which is best for you?

While you might be tempted to go all-in on Samsung’s book-style Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Z Flip 5 might be the better option with a more compact design and an experience not dissimilar to a standard candybar phone, albeit with the ability to fold in half. Or maybe you want the biggest display possible, in which case the Z Fold 5 is the (pricey) go-to option.

We break down the key similarities and differences between the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 right here to help you make the best decision for your needs. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 has a larger display

There’s a fundamental difference in the design of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5, with the former opting for a clamshell design reminiscent of old flip phones while the latter sports a book-style design with a larger inner display.

With that all explained, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has a larger display with its book-style design than the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 5. The Flip 5’s internal 120Hz AMOLED panel measures the same 6.7 inches as plenty of flagships in 2023, complete with a candybar-esque 22:9 aspect ratio. It’s essentially your standard smartphone experience.

The Flip 5’s cover display is larger at 3.4 inches, allowing you to interact with widgets, reply to text messages and run some Android apps. 

On the other hand, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 hides a large 7.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel within, along with a 6.1-inch cover display for quick tasks. Though the difference of 0.9 inches might not seem significant, combined with the Fold 5’s boxy aspect ratio, the result is a much taller and broader display. It’s closer to what you’d get from a tablet than anything on the candybar phone market. 

It’s ideal not only for watching YouTube videos on a large display but also for split-screen multitasking – something our reviewer found himself doing more on the Fold than any other Android smartphone. 

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is more compact

Though the larger 7.6-inch display of the Z Fold 5 can fold in half, it still resembles the footprint of a standard smartphone – albeit taller, slimmer and thicker, measuring 154.9 x 67.1 x 13.4mm.

The Z Flip 5, on the other hand, folds down to a much more compact form with its horizontal fold essentially cutting the length of the phone in half when not in use. That’s further improved by the new hinge mechanism that finally lets the Z Flip 5 (and Fold 5) close completely with no annoying gap, helping slim the folded profile down a little more.

All this equates to a phone that’s just 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1mm thick in its folded form, making it the ideal size to slip into a pocket or a bag. 

Both sport the custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset

Despite the different approaches that the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 offer, one consistent element is performance. That comes in the form of Qualcomm’s custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, the same as that found in the flagship Samsung Galaxy S23 series.

More specifically, the custom chipset sports higher CPU clock speeds and an additional GPU core compared to the standard flagship-level Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 found in most high-end phones in 2023, giving the Flip and Fold 5 an edge in performance. 

We found that both phones could handle whatever we threw at them, be it multitasking or AAA gaming with high graphics enabled, though the Z Fold 5 has a slight edge with 12GB of RAM compared to the 8GB found in the Fold 5. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 has more capable cameras

It has been a disappointing year for Samsung’s foldable camera tech, with the Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 sporting the same cameras as their predecessors. That said, with the Z Fold 4 sporting a more advanced camera setup than its clamshell brethren, the same is true of this year’s big-screen foldable. 

For context, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 sports a dual 12MP camera setup on its rear cover, the same as the Z Flip 4, with no real advancements aside from reduced lens flare in night images. We found the dual camera setup to be fine, but without pixel-binning tech, images lacked definition compared to most flagship rivals – an issue most apparent in low-light photography. 

The Fold 5, on the other hand, sports a triple camera system including a 50MP main, 10MP 3x telephoto and 12MP ultrawide. It boasts better zoom capabilities than the Flip 5, and a higher resolution primary sensor helps deliver more detail and light in conjunction with pixel-binning tech. It’s still not the best foldable for camera tech – the Google Pixel Fold takes that crown – it’s undoubtedly the more capable of Samsung’s two 2023 foldables. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is more expensive

Neither of Samsung’s foldables is what most would consider cheap, but the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is certainly the more affordable. It starts at the same $999 as its predecessor in the US, though at a slightly increased £1059 in the UK compared to £999 last year. 

The saving grace? The Flip 5 starts with an increased 256GB of storage, so you’re getting a little more bang for your buck this time around. 

On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at £1749/$1799 – £690/$800 more than the Flip 5 and an increase of £100 in the UK compared to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 4. It’s a whole lot of money for a whole lot of smartphone.