Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs. Galaxy Z Fold 4: What’s the Difference?
Samsung dominates the market for foldable phones, and the Fold series is its flagship range, packing ultra-high-end features and a high price to match. The latest model is the Galaxy Z Fold 5 which succeeds the Z Fold 4 that launched in 2022. It brings several changes to make the device even better.
The Fold series is into its fifth generation, so if you’ve been holding off buying a foldable, maybe now is the time to make your move. Let’s take a look at how the Fold 5 compares to the Fold 4 and see if it’s a great leap forward for foldables, or just more of the same.
Dimensions and Design
After the 2022 redesign, Samsung has kept the design almost identical for 2023 on the Fold 5 with just a few key changes. Generally, the Fold 5 is slightly thinner and lighter than the Fold 4. The weight has dropped from 9.28oz to 8.92oz, while the slimmest point on the Fold 5 is just 0.53 inches.
The main design change—and a long-awaited one—is a new hinge that lets the device close flat. It helps to give the phone a much more polished look.
There’s a rear triple camera system and two other selfie cameras (one on the inner display and the other on the cover screen). The Z Fold 5 ships in Icy Blue, Phantom Black, Cream Gray, and Blue colors, while the Z Fold 4 sells in Graygreen, Phantom Black, Burgundy, and Beige.
The display size is one of the many things that are the same on the two phones. Samsung retained the 7.6-inch inner display and 6.2-inch cover screen. The resolution is similar, too, but the Z Fold 5 offers a higher peak brightness of 1750 nits on its inner panel, more than 30% brighter.
Higher peak brightness makes the Fold 5’s inner display offer a comfortable viewing experience in bright conditions, like outdoors under sunlight. The phone should also be marginally better in terms of durability because it uses Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back, ditching the older Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the Z Fold 4.
On both devices, scrolling should feel smooth with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate support on the inner and cover screens.
Samsung has made few changes to the camera setup on the Fold 5, and you get the same lenses whether you buy the new model or the outgoing Fold 4.
There’s a rear triple camera system (a 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom) followed by a single 4MP under-display selfie camera inside, and another 10MP selfie camera on the cover screen.
Samsung may have felt the camera on the Fold 4 was already good enough after it received a significant upgrade compared to the Z Fold 3 in 2021.
And the company might be justified—according to ourSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 review, the image quality is fantastic, with lots of detail and color. The camera is also reliable both in broad daylight and during the night. With identical lenses, expect an identical experience.
Under the hood, the Z Fold 5 runs the same chip that poweredall of Samsung’s 2023 flagship S23 seriesdevices. Unlike the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the included variant offers better performance with slightly higher CPU (3.36GHz vs. 3.2GHz) and GPU (719MHz vs. 680MHz) clock speeds. So if you need more power in a foldable, the Fold 5 should be your go-to choice.
On the other hand, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 powers the Z Fold 4. Like theSnapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, it a manufactured on a 4nm die. Clock speeds are slightly lower, but it generally packs enough power to run the Fold 4 without hiccups.
There’s unlikely to be a huge difference between the two, but with its higher performance figures, expect slightly better performance on the Z Fold 5.
RAM and Storage
Whichever you pick, 12GB of memory is offered as a standard. The same applies to storage, where you pick between 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB. 256GB is the lowest option, which is excellent for a tablet-sized device like the Z Fold 4 or 5, where media consumption and productivity could be two of your primary use cases.
There’s no expansion slot on either device, which has become the norm for many high-end smartphones. Despite the similarities, the Fold 5 differentiates itself by usingUFS 4.0 storage technologywhich offers better read and write speeds than the UFS 3.1 used on the Fold 4.
With the Z Fold 5 being marginally lighter, you’d think Samsung might have shaved off some battery capacity. That’s not the case; it retains the same 4400mAh battery as its predecessor.
The other specs are the same, too. 25W fast charging is available via USB-C; with it, you only need half an hour to take your device to 50% from zero. Wireless charging is available, but capped at 15W. And both devices support reverse wireless charging, so you can charge other devices from Samsung that offer wireless charging without a hassle.
Is It Time to Buy a Folding Phone?
The Z Fold 5 starts at $1799, the same launch price as the Z Fold 4. Changes between the fourth and fifth generations are minimal but important, with the fundamental changes being the revamped hinge, a brighter display, and a new processor. The minimal changes indicate the maturity of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series.
The Fold 5 looks like a perfect device for first-time foldable buyers. You no longer have to worry about the hinge or display, the primary culprits that affect the durability of foldable phones. So if you’ve been sitting on the fence since the onset, now is the time to get a folding phone.
Could foldable phones be the future of mainstream smartphones? Maybe, but they need a number of changes before it will happen.
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