By Holly, Mozillion Team
It’s Flip versus Flip
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip smartphones are pretty stunning pieces of mobile tech, and that’s before you flip them open into twice their size, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie.
In the relatively short amount of time the Galaxy Z Flip range has been on the market, it has revolutionised the foldable phone space and is improving all the time. The latest model is the Flip 5.
So what exactly have Samsung refined this time in its latest offering, and how does the Galaxy Z Flip 5 compare to Galaxy Z Flip 4? Let’s find out…
Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4: Design
Despite being a feat of mechanical engineering, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 still had a noticeable gap in its foldable clamshell design which was a bit of a faux pas (presumably to keep cost down) and needed to be addressed. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 does not have this problem and finally both halves of the phone fold perfectly flat against each other.
This makes the device significantly slimmer without compromising on one its greatest features – its IPX8 water resistance – which, interestingly, can still be a rarity in the foldable phone space.
Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4: Display
As part of its more elegant design, Samsung have also included a larger external display on the outside of the phone.
As it is a flip phone, it benefits from having two screens – one that works more like a smartwatch / regular smartphone for notifications and the like, and one that functions as full smartphone, or mini-tablet.
The smaller screen is available when the phone is shut and can carry out basic functions of a smartphone, but Samsung have increased the size of the display. The external display on the Z Flip 5 now measures 3.4 inches compared to the 1.9 inches for the Z Flip 4 which is a vast improvement. New widgets also now available on the Z Flip 5 external screen include contacts, calendar, stocks and now playing. We should also mention that the other, larger screen you see when you open the phone is 6.7 inches – this is the same size as the Z Flip 4 screen.
Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4: Processor
Whilst the chipset under the hood of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 was powerful, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has had an upgrade with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. This is the same one found in the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
This upgrade unlocks a 4.35x uptick in AI power management which equates to a 25% boost in the GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) and a 35% improvement in the CPU (Central Processing Unit). This basically means that the Z Flip 5 has even better control of the interpretation and execution of instructions and can handle graphics-related and video more efficiently.
Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4:Price
It is no big surprise that all these enhancements in the latest Galaxy Z Flip 5 would end up with it costing more than the Z Flip 4. This is probably down to the processor and the question really is how important that is to you
If it is the folding phone technology you like and the tweaks are no big deal, then you are going to get a fantastic piece of kit with the Z Flip 4 but if you are already a flip phone pro and want the best of the best, then the Z Flip 5 is worth the extra investment, especially with the redesigned hinge and larger external display too.
Z Flip 5 vs Flip 4: Colours
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 comes in four colours – Pink Gold, Purple, Graphite and Blue whereas the Z Flip 5 comes in Mint, Graphite, Lavender and Cream as base colours.
There are other colour exclusives available from Samsung directly, including Blue, Green, Grey and Yellow.