Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4: what's new?
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Intro
The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 might just be the biggest change in the series since its beginning.
See, Samsung single-handedly started this foldable phone movement four years ago, but being the only game in town meant it could take things easy. That changed in the past few months as new competition has finally shown up and it has forced Samsung to make some big changes to its clamshell phone.
The Galaxy Z Flip 5 addresses the biggest shortcoming of the Flip 4 and the Flip models before it. First, you finally get an outer screen of a much bigger size that you could actually use for some tasks, and second, you get a slimmer phone that closes with no gap.
Along with that come other upgrades: the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the first flip phone equipped with the new and more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, and the phone now comes with double the storage in even the base model.
So... are these enough reasons for Galaxy Z Flip 4 owners to upgrade? And what else is new? Let's take a look.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4 differences:
- Flip 5 has much larger Cover Screen
- No gap when phone is closed
- Faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip
- Similar dual camera system (wide + ultra-wide)
- Base model slightly more expensive, but comes with double the storage (256GB)
- Same battery size
- Same charging speeds
Table of Contents:
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Design and Size
Similar size, but Flip 5 closes with no gap
While the overall design styling of the Flip 5 remains roughly the same as the Flip 4, some changes have been made.
The first and most important one is certainly that the phone no closes with no gap thanks to a re-worked hinge. That makes for a slightly slimmer phone, which is always a good thing.
We did not notice any change to the "crease" in the middle, though, which is still quite noticeable.
Samsung is also using similar materials to build the Flip 5 as it did for the Flip 4: you have a slightly newer Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 (the previous model used Victus 1+ but the difference is tiny) and then aluminum for the frame.
Both phones carry the same IPX8 water resistance rating, with the X meaning there is no special dust resistance on either one of these, so you should still be extra careful in dusty environments which remain the biggest enemy of folding phones.
Display Differences
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) The main screens are practically the same, the change is in the Flex Screen
The tiny, 1.9-inch Cover Screen on the Flip 4 was fine if you wanted to just check your notifications and also did the job more or less fine for selfies, but not much more.
That's why we are super happy that Samsung is finally bringing a much larger 3.4-inch Cover Screen on the Flip 5.
You can do a lot more on this larger screen thanks to a bunch of new widgets that Samsung has built specifically for this screen, but you will not be able to just use any app on it.
So what exactly can you do on the outer screen?
Here are some of the widgets available at launch:
- Favorite contacts / Recents that you can quickly dial
- Samsung Wallet with your credit cards, boarding passes, driver's license, student ID and more
- Weather widget
- Clock widget where you can set alarms and timers
- Voice recorder app
- Stocks widget
- Control system settings like sound, brightness, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, AirPlane mode, and more
- Daily Steps
Unfortunately, you will not be able to open a web browser on the outer screen, or watch YouTube videos on it, or play games like you can on the Motorola Razr Plus. You will also not be able to type on the outer screen, so this remains a pretty limited experience.
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Crease is still an issue on the Flip 5
As for the main screen, it is pretty much the same as before: same 6.7-inch size with that tall and narrow 22 to 9 aspect ratio. It's an OLED display with 120Hz Dynamic refresh rate, as before. By the way, the outer screen only supports 60Hz, in case you were wondering.
Display Measurements:
As for biometrics, again, no changes. You have a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button on both phones, and it is just as accurate and speedy as on previous Flip phones, we've had no issues there.
Performance and Software
Faster chip, but... should you really care?
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 feels snappier and you get double the storage on the Flip 5
The Flip 5 gets the latest and greatest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, an upgrade over the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 used on the Flip 4.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is one of the best chips in recent years as it improves both the performance and the power efficiency. However, truth is that the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 already felt fast enough for most tasks, so unless you really obsess over performance, you won't notice the change much.
You also have the same 8GB amount of RAM on both phones.
Performance Benchmarks:
However, there is one big upgrade and that's the storage. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 comes with 256GB of native storage in the base model, double what you had before. This is great news. A recent poll we did showed that most users think 256GB of storage is the sweet spot.
As for software, both run on Android 13 with the latest version of Samsung's One UI 5 skin on top.
With four years of major updates, software support is excellent on both these phones and for those who hold on to their devices for a long time, this is one important advantage.
Camera
Same hardware, improved processing
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Some slight improvements
Those who expected larger camera sensors or some other hardware changes to the camera system on the Galaxy Z Flip 5 are in for a disappointment.
Samsung is using the same camera system as before: a dual camera system with the same size 12MP main camera sensor and the same 12MP ultra-wide shooter. And yes, you also get the same 10MP selfie camera on main screen.
However, image quality is tweaked thanks to improved software processing.
One other new feature on the Flip 5 is a "Natural" and "Warm" color toggle for your selfies.
We should also say that you don't have a zoom camera on the Flip 5, and it uses digital zoom. Flip phones are tiny and that's one compromise Samsung takes.
Main Camera - Day
Well, if you see two extremely similar photos above, you are not alone. Samsung has tweaked the processing so the sky is a less intense shade of blue and the image is a bit sharper on the Flip 5, but these photos are more similar than they are different.
Main Camera - Low-light
In low light, you can spot the changes better. The Flip 5 definitely captures more detail and cleaner detail in the shadows, just look at the sand in the bottom right corner, it all looks sharper and more detailed on the newer phone.
Zoom Quality
We were surprised to see such a big improvement in zoom quality, but it's definitely a fact. The Flip 5 does a much better job with digital zoom than the Flip 4. It cannot quite match a dedicated zoom lens, not even close, but it's better than before.
Ultra-wide Camera
In daylight, ultra-wide shots on the Flip 5 have slightly better detail and appear a bit sharper, but colors and the overall look are mostly the same and the changes are quite subtle.
In low light, the Flip 5 brings more noticeable improvements. Artifacts that we saw often on the Flip 4 like that weird blue patch in the sky are no longer an issue on the Flip 5, and you get a more detailed and better exposed shot, especially if you look around the edges of the frame.
Selfies
Samsung has made some very subtle tweaks when it comes to the selfies, but the big change comes with just the bigger outer screen on the Flip 5 which makes it much easier to compose your selfie shots with the main camera.
Video Quality
4K video looks very similar on these two as you would expect, but we noticed the Galaxy Z Flip 5 brings at least some improvements. Video stabilization is improved on the new Flip 5 and you can see that you have less noise and slightly cleaner footage.
In low light, those differences are only amplified. The Flip 5 has warmer colors, but also cleaner footage with less noise and you notice the improvement in video stabilization a bit more. So we definitely see that these are not quite identical and improvements have been made, even with the same hardware.
Audio Quality and Haptics
There are no major changes in the audio quality between the Flip 5 and the Flip 4. The loudspeakers produce decent sound with a good amount of volume and clarity, but the keyword here is "decent". These speakers are okay, but you don't have the depth or the punch that you can get from phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Haptic feedback is also very similar on the Flip 5 and the Flip 4.
Battery Life and Charging
Same battery size, same charging speeds
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Battery life is mostly the same
The Flip 5 comes with the same size 3,700 mAh battery as the Flip 4.
We do expect some slight improvements in battery life thanks to the more power-efficient Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, but nothing major.
PhoneArena Battery Test Results:
As for charging, you have 25W wired charging speed which Samsung calls "Super Fast Charging", but let's face it, these are quite average speeds in our modern world.
Charging Test Results:
The Flip 5 also supports the same wireless charging speeds as the Flip 4.
Specs Comparison
What are the exact differences when you look at the Galaxy Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4 specs? We have them right below:
| Specs | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Size and Weight | Folded: 85.1 x 71.9 x 15.1 mm Unfolded: 165.1 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm Weight: 187 g | Folded: 84.9 x 71.9 x 17.1 mm Unfolded: 165.2 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm Weight: 187 g |
| Displays | 3.4-inch Cover Screen 6.7-inch main screen 22:9 aspect ratio 1080p, 120Hz | 1.9-inch Cover Screen 6.7-inch main screen 22:9 aspect ratio 1080p, 120Hz |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 |
| RAM, Storage and Price | 8/256 GB 8/512 GB | 8/128 GB 8/256 GB 8/512 GB |
| Software | Android 13 with One UI 5 | Android 13 with One UI 5 |
| Cameras | 12MP wide, f/1.8 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 10MP selfie cam | 12MP wide, f/1.8 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.2 10MP selfie cam |
| Battery Size | 3,700 mAh | 3,700 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 25W wired charge 10W wireless | 25W wired charge 10W wireless |
Summary
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) The Flip 5 feels like the most mature Samsung flip phone
At the end of the day, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 somehow manages to be one of the bigger upgrades in the series, and also, a bit underwhelming.
The larger outer screen is something most people would love having, but Samsung has weirdly limited its functionality to only a few widgets. The new processor is the fastest on a clamshell phone, but you could argue that previous chips were already fast enough.
While the phone now also closes with no gap, Samsung has not addressed the crease in the middle which annoys many people.
And we would have loved to see some bigger changes to the battery size and the camera system.
To sum it up, the Flip 5 sure is nicer than the Flip 4 and if you are after a clamshell phone, it remains one of your best options, but if you already own the Flip 4, you probably don't need to upgrade right away.
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