Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Galaxy Z Flip 5: First Impressions From Seoul, Korea”.
This is the new Samsung Galaxy Z, flip 5.. I’Ve only been using it for a day, but so far I already have some thoughts and Impressions about it. The first thing you notice is a giant new cover screen. It’S a lot bigger than the one on the Z flip 4, which means there’s a lot more, that you can do with it. It seems like Samsung, really designed this front screen with widgets in mind more so than full apps. So, as you can see, there’s a weather, widget, there’s alarms, there’s the calendar, your steps, a lot of the things that you would expect and while you can run some apps on this cover screen, not all apps will be compatible at least not by default. At first.
I thought that would be a bit limiting because the Motorola Razer plus, which is another flip phone, that’s really similar to the Galaxy Z flip does let you run any app. You want for the most part on that cover screen, but the more I use the Razer plus the more. I did start to realize that apps can look a little bit cramped on that front screen.
So what Samsung is trying to do here is kind of make the experience a little bit more curated by only allowing some apps to work, so the ones that I’ve been using so far that I have on the cover screen are messages. A navigation app like Google Maps WhatsApp and YouTube and, to be honest of those apps, the only one I’ve really found myself using a lot so far is WhatsApp, because I really like texting with the device closed like this, because it’s really small and comfortable and it Fits really nicely in my hand, I feel like there’s a lot that Samsung and other flip phone makers can do with a front screen like this. To me, this kind of feels like a halfway point between a smartphone and a smart watch.
It’S a small compact screen. That’S really glanceable kind of like a smart watch, but it also isn’t as large as a phone, but you can still do things like typing and tapping and swiping, and all of these gestures that might not be comfortable on a smart watch for an extended period of Time so I am looking forward to seeing where Samsung takes this in the future. Sure.
Now, when you open up the phone, you still get that same 6.7 inch screen on the inside just like last year’s device and yes, there is still a crease and it is still noticeable. That’S a little bit of a disappointment because Samsung is on its generation of foldable devices. I was really hoping to see a less noticeable crease, but when the device is closed, there’s no Gap near the hinge, because Samsung has a new hinge that it’s calling the flex hinge, and this really does make the new Z flip feel a bit more Compact and A bit more sleek and it’s generally just better looking overall Samsung, isn’t the first one to do this.
The Motorola Razer plus also has a hinge with no Gap, and that phone is also a little bit thinner than the Galaxy Z flip 5. But I do think the Z flip 5 – it just has a bit of a sturdier, feel to it when I’m opening and closing it so far. So I really do appreciate that the Razer plus, even though I love how thin it is, it does feel a bit more delicate, as I’m opening and closing it Samsung also says, the new hinge should help with durability. We won’t know for sure until we’ve had this phone for a long time.
The other thing I’m looking forward to testing on here is the new processor. So this has the same chip as the Galaxy s23 series, which means we should be seeing a little bit longer. Battery life and also a better camera performance because of the image signal processor. So the cameras are pretty much the same as the Galaxy Z flip 4, except for a new coating that should reduce lens flare. But it’s really the processor that is supposed to bring some improvements, so we’ll have to do some photo testing to find out.
I have been taking some photos with this device, as I’ve been traveling around Seoul, and here are some of my favorite shots so far, foreign will also have more photo comparisons as well. So, overall, I do really like the Z flip 5.. I feel like it’s a step forward in the right direction for Samsung’s flip phones at one thousand dollars.
It is still pretty expensive. I think this is something that is still considered a premium device and you’re really paying that extra money to get a device that folds in half and becomes more compact with the front screen. Samsung is really leaning into that aspect and making the device feel more useful when it’s closed, which is very important. So once again, don’t forget to follow CNET for my full review and don’t forget to check out CNET just for other coverage of foldable phones and Samsung. As well, thanks for watching and I’ll see you next time, .