Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 release date, price, specs and new design

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 introduced by Samsung at Galaxy Unpacked 2023 doesn't reinvent the wheel for this flagship foldable. Instead, Samsung has chosen to fine-tune its $1,799 flagship device with a focus on a new hinge and an upgraded chipset being the chief differences from the Fold's predecessor. 

We've got a full Galaxy Z Fold 5 review that dives into some of the new features and enhancements Samsung has introduced, and our Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 4 comparison details what's new with this latest model. Here, we'll take a look at the Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs and outline what you can expect to see should you give this new phone a try.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 price and availability

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 costs $1,799 for a 256GB model — a price that's unchanged from what Samsung charged for the Galaxy Z Fold 4. (In the U.K., the starting price is £1,749.) With Google also charging $1,799 for its Pixel Fold, it feels like Samsung missed an opportunity to undercut the competition.

You can preorder the Galaxy Z Fold 5 now, with the phone going on sale August 11. Samsung is already offering a Galaxy Z Fold 5 preorder deal in which you can get a free storage upgrade — that is, you can buy the 512GB model for the same price as the 256GB base version. In addition, Samsung will let you trade-in your current phone for up to $1,000 in credit off the price of the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Expect the phone to be available from multiple phone carriers in the U.S. Preorders are already underway at AT&T. T-Mobile Verizon and Xfinity Mobile, and we'd imagine others will follow.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 design

Easily, the most noteworthy change to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 — and also a new feature of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 introduced at the same time — is the new Flex hinge. Samsung says it's using a dual rail structure for the hinge that results in fewer moving parts and a more streamlined design. The end result from a user end is that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is able to open up completely flat, and when you close the phone, there's no gap between the two panels, either.

There are other benefits to the Flex hinge. It allows for a thinner profile than before. While the Pixel Fold remains the thinnest foldable device with this design — Google's phone is 0.2 inches thin when open — the Galaxy Z Fold does shave down its own profile to 0.24 inches. That's a little bit thinner than the 0.25-inch Galaxy Z Fold 4.

The new phone is lighter than its predecessor, too, weighing in at 8.9 ounces. That beats the Z Fold 4's 9.2-ounce weight and makes it even lighter than the 10-ounce Pixel Fold.

Samsung uses Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on both the front display and back cover of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to give the phone some durability. An iPX8 rating means you can drop the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in water without a problem, but the rumored dust resistance isn't included with this phone.

You can see how these changes were tested in a new video from Samsung. Albeit one that doesn't really show us the results of the drop, impact and water immersion tests.

You can buy the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in one of three colors — Icy Blue, Phantom Black and Cream. Samsung's offering two exclusive colors at its website — Blue and Gray.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 display

if you're familiar with past Galaxy Z Fold models, you won't find many changes with the new device's display. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 features a 6.2-inch cover display on the outside. Open up the phone, and you reveal a 7.6-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. (The outer panel still features a 60Hz panel.)

By keeping the screens at their previous sizes and aspect ratios, Samsung is sticking with a tall outer display. The Pixel Fold established a nice contrast with the Galaxy Z Fold with a wider outer display that some have found easier to type on. That's a contrast that will continue with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 sticking to its predecessor's specs.

There is one notable display change for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 compared to its predecessor — the inside panel now claims a maximum brightness of 1,750 putting it on par with the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Consiering how bright that device is, you should have no problem using the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in full sunlight, though we'll need to test to confirm that.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cameras

If the changes to the displays on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 are minimal, they're downright non-existent when it comes to the phone's cameras. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 uses a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide shooter and 10MP telephoto lens that's capable of a 3x optical zoom just like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 did before it. Not that any of this is a bad thing — the Galaxy Z Fold 4's cameras were a serious upgrade over past Folds so at least that's continuing with the new model.

It's less heartening to see the 4MP under-display camera return since that's been one of the Galaxy Z Fold 4's weaker points, but there it is on the Z Fold 5. You also can turn to the 10MP camera on the Fold's outer display.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 performance

As had been expected leading up to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 launch, Samsung is equipping its top-of-the-line foldable with Qualcomm's top-of-the-line silicon. in this case, that means the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 featuring the same over-clocked version used in the Galaxy S23 lineup.

If Galaxy S23 Ultra benchmarks are any guide, that should mean the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be among the top-performing Android phones, with benchmarks that top all other devices (except for those also running on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2). 

Even more interesting, our Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 benchmarks have shown some Android phones topping the iPhone 14 Pro in graphics testing. We're eager to see if history repeats itself with the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 battery life and charging

Samsung's not changing anything with the battery setup or the charging speed of the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The new device offers the same 4,400 mAh power pack found in the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and it continues to charge at 25W speeds over a wired connection.

Samsung seems to be counting on the power management features of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 to help the Galaxy Z Fold 5 improve upon its predecessor's battery life. It's not a bad bet, as all three Galaxy S23 models powered by the Qualcomm silicon lasted longer than their equivalent Galaxy S22 models on our battery test. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a mainstay on our best phone battery life list, and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy is a big reason why.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 software and special features

The S Pen remains an optional accessory for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but it's now 41% thinner which should make it easier to hold. Samsung also says the stylus is more responsive than before. You can see for yourslef by springing for the $54 accessory, though you'll likely need to add a case, too, as there's still no way to store the S Pen on the phone itself.

The more significan changes to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 concern some of the software features that let you take advantage of the extra screen space. You can multitask as before, but now it's easy to add in an app with a swipe from the bottom or left of the screen. 

The taskbar now shows four recently used apps — up from two apps on the Z Fold 4 — alongside your favorite apps. Dragging down diagonally from the top right of the display turns any app into a floating window on the Z Fold 5's dislay. A hidden pop-up feature lets apps run in the background — an example Samsung gives is watching a video while using a poo-up chat window to text friends about what you're seeing.

Finally, a two-handed drag and drop feature lets you grab an image with one finger, while you use another to open an app where you can drag in the selected image.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 outlook

As you can see, Samsung isn't trying to reinvent the foldable wheel with the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Instead, the focus is on tweaking features to improve the big screen experience, from making the main display flatter when open to putting more multitasking capabilities at your disposal.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 certainly won't be considered a great leap forward from last year's phone, though Samsung might argue it doesn't need to be to rank among the best foldable phones. We'll see if that holds up when we stack up the Galaxy Z Fold 5 against other foldables.

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