Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Z Fold 5: To flip or to fold?

When the Samsung Galaxy Fold was first released in 2019, the defective hinge, noticeable crease in the display, and a price tag reserved for early adopters threw the tech world into a frenzy. Part of this was fuelled by Samsung’s previous, more serious, phablet phailures. But perhaps more importantly, the first Galaxy Fold was so heavily scrutinised because it was trying something new… something people might actually want.

Four years later, the foldable market is still just a wee little tech baby. One born into an ever-looming recession where people are increasingly interested in what’s going on at the more affordable end of the smartphone market. Still, despite that whole pandemic malarky and the economic nightmare that followed, Samsung has stuck with its vision of a foldable future and has been slowly but surely working out the kinks.

Take this year’s Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, for example. Compared to last year’s models (the Fold 4 and Flip 4,) the 2023 handsets might not seem like much of an upgrade but consider how much these phones have grown over such a short time. The Fold has gone from a PR disaster to one of Samsung’s most promising prospects in Australia, while the Flip came out of nowhere with a classic spin on the foldable formula and was not only popular enough to warrant multiple sequels but even managed to outshine the Fold in certain regions. Even Google is hungry for a slice of the foldable pie.

While it’s the Z Flip’s compact form factor that’s taken the world by storm over recent years, the Z Fold is, perhaps surprisingly, the more popular model in Australia according to Samsung.

If you live Down Under and you’re not sure whether you should be flipping or folding, let us help point out the differences.

It doesn’t take a galaxy brain to deduce the major display differences between the Z Fold and Flip phones.

The Z Fold 5 rocks a small exterior display when closed but boasts a mammoth 7.6-inch 120Hz AMOLED display when in use. The Z Fold 5’s display is pretty easy to imagine; essentially two full-length smartphone displays attached at the hip.

The Z Flip 5 is a little different. The flippable form factor gives you an even smaller (yet useful) exterior display in its compact mode. Unleashed, the tall 6.7-inch display (165mm tall) is a slightly elongated version of contemporary smartphone displays.

The tech behind these displays is more or less the same where the magic happens. Unflippe or unfolded, you’re getting a 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display with HDR10+.

The exterior display of the Z Flip 5 is smaller thanks to its compact nature, but it’s not really meant for regular use; more of a mini display where you can see the time and notifications. It’s small but has a more generous exterior display than that of the Z Flip 4. In fact, the Z Flip 5’s upgraded exterior display is probably the biggest difference, year on year, amongst the entire Z Flip and Fold family.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is, of course, a heavier unit than the Z Flip 5. But that’s considered a pro amongst many users, who find the compact nature of the Z Flip 5 a benefit.

As for the overall design, it’s hard to make any meaningful comparisons. The bigger one folds, and the smaller one flips. People who yearn for that phablet experience can multitask to their heart’s content with the Z Fold 5 but those who wish to be unencumbered by their massive smartphones can seek solace in the Z Flip 5’s compact form factor.

Camera tech is where most of the price difference comes from when comparing the Z Fold to the Z Flip. The more expensive Z Fold 5 will get you a 50MP main shooter, a 10MP ultrawide lens, a telephoto lens and an additional cover camera.

The Z Flip 5 has a more modest lens array, with dual 12MP (wide and ultrawide) shooters on the outside and a single 10MP selfie camera on the inside.

The Z Fold 5’s 10MP telephoto lens offers 3x optical zoom which is nice to have, and the 10MP cover camera is essentially your selfie camera when the phone is folded. There’s a 4MP selfie camera on the inside of the Z Fold 5 too. Lastly, the Z Fold 5 shoots in 8K, whereas the Z Flip 5 caps out at 4K video.

Here are some camera samples taken from our reviews of the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5:

When it comes to raw processing power, the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 share the same Gen 2 Snapdragon 8 brain. It’s the most advanced chipset you’ll find in a Samsung smartphone in 2023, including the top-of-the-line Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The only significant difference between the Z Flip and Z Fold 5 is a matter of allocated RAM. As is typical with premium-priced phones, the more expensive Z Fold 5 is available with more storage and RAM options, while the Z Flip 5 keeps things simple.

The Z Fold 5 is available in 256GB, 512GB or 1TB options for internal storage (all with 12GB RAM), whereas the Z Flip 5 isn’t available with 1TB storage, only 256GB and 512GB with 8GB of RAM across the board.

Surprising no one, there is also no expandable storage (microSD) available with either handset.

Thus we arrive at our final point of comparison: price. This is what matters most and it’s what makes the Z Flip 5’s few shortcomings all the more palatable. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 isn’t just expensive, it’s one of the priciest premium smartphones on the market.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 starts at a comparatively modest $1,649 in Australia. That’s for the 128GB model. Whereas the Galaxy Z Fold 5 starts at $2,599 in Australia for the 256GB version.

If you’re considering purchasing either smartphone outright, here’s how much you’ll be coughing up:

If you’d rather not purchase either phone outright, there are a few payment options available from Australia's leading telcos. Here’s what each carrier will charge you per month if you sign up for a 36-month agreement (24-month plans are also available at checkout.)

Here’s the thing: on paper the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is slightly more impressive on a technical level. It’s got better cameras, more RAM and storage and a much larger display. That last point is what will draw most to the Z Fold 5.

But it’s that same thing that will draw a separate crowd to the more compact Z Flip 5, a smartphone with all the bells and whistles of a premium handset that takes up half the space in your pocket.

The Z Flip 5’s shortcomings are also more than justified by the much cheaper asking price. Not to mention the fact that, despite improvements over the years, many Samsung users are still pretty disappointed by the dreaded crease that remains on Samsung’s foldable displays; something that’s been rectified already by competitors like Motorola and OPPO. So spending upwards of $2,000 on a foldable phone that still hasn’t quite perfected the art of flexible displays feels like a risky move. $1,699, on the other hand, is more reasonable.