This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 14, 2023 - August 20, 2023

The latest addition to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series, the Fold5, continues to captivate many users. On the outside, it looks like a regular phone, albeit thicker; once unfolded, however, the screen size doubles, creating an impressive visual experience. Although this model is the fifth iteration, the specs of the phone remain impressive.

The Fold5 was launched on July 26, and Digital Edge had the privilege of trying out the phone before it hit retail stores on Aug 18. Improvements from the Fold4 are measured, with most changes being a direct response to consumer feedback, like more phone case styles for personalisation.

The Fold5 focuses on refining its predecessor’s strengths. At a folded thickness of 13.4mm and a weight of 253g, it is the thinnest and lightest Fold yet, boasting a Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display for more vibrant visuals and offering ample base storage. The retail price of the Fold5 starts at RM6,799 for the basic 256GB model. It comes in icy blue, phantom black and cream. Grey and blue versions are available exclusively for online purchases.

The real innovations come from the hardware and features, though. After a week of use, here are some notable ways the Fold5 stands out for us:

A key innovation with the new Fold is the “teardrop hinge”, which is Samsung’s response to its competitors’ waterdrop hinges.

This new hinge almost completely removes the gap when the screens are folded shut, a concern users had with previous models. The phone case even closes with a satisfying “click”, eliminating concerns of causing damage by shutting the two halves too hard.

Despite constant opening and closing of the screen, the crease on the foldable screen remains largely inconspicuous. It is virtually invisible when watching a video or playing a game.

Samsung has expanded its taskbar, allowing quick access to your favourite apps and the ability to switch between or even run multiple apps at the same time. The Fold5 displays up to four recent apps that users can toggle back and forth.

A new feature in the Fold5’s taskbar, which will be added to older models in future updates, is the ability to copy and paste images from one app to another by dragging the item and dropping to the other app with a tap on the taskbar.

This works with images from the internet or the phone’s gallery. Drag the photo with one finger, open a writing app via the Taskbar with the other, and you can drop the image there.

While it feels intuitive, hiding the taskbar for full-screen viewing can feel clumsy as it requires a long hold at the bottom of the screen to hide it or bring it back.

Outside of having a bigger screen to watch, read or play on, the biggest draw of all the added screen space is multitasking. Having multiple apps run at the same time allows for greater efficiency.

Multitasking is as easy as before. Users can drag the app icon from either the taskbar, notifications window or edge panels, and they can run up to three applications simultaneously, thanks to the Fold5’s 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display.

It is impressive that it can run three heavy-duty apps at the same time with no dips in performance. Even apps that do not have built-in multitasking support work well.

It is important to note that, despite having a brighter screen and new features that take up more power, the Fold5 uses the same battery as the Fold4. A day of fair multitasking saw the battery fall to 15% in about six hours, so bringing a charger for productive days is recommended.

When it comes to mobile gaming, the Fold5 impresses. With the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for the Galaxy, the Fold5 shows steady performance when running games.

The Fold5 was able to run Genshin Impact at medium quality at a consistent 60 frames per second and Fortnite at epic quality. The added screen space when the device was unfolded made gaming more comfortable.

Multitasking with gaming is impressively integrated. The Fold5 ran Genshin Impact, YouTube and a messaging app simultaneously with no negative impact on all three apps. It could even run Genshin Impact and Fortnite — which are graphically demanding games — at the same time flawlessly.

The new cooling system with a 38% larger vapour chamber allows heavy games to run without heating issues. However, the phone will heat up a lot with heavy use of multitasking while playing.

Samsung phones have some of the best cameras out there. The Fold5 holds its own while not reaching the heights of the high-end phones on the market. Its cameras are more than capable of capturing sharp and vivid pictures, be it for personal memories or Instagram.

The main rear camera has a 50MP (megapixel) wide-angle camera. To compare, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra’s Primary camera is 200MP. That 50MP camera is still sharp enough to take amazing photos with clarity that pops with the Fold5’s AMOLED 2X Display, featuring a surprising amount of detail in the shot.

The Fold5’s front-facing camera is less than impressive at 4MP, making selfies look rather blurry. To counter this, the Fold5’s cover screen has a much clearer 10MP camera, which is more comparable to the S23 Ultra’s 12MP front-facing camera. While the cover camera makes up for what is lost in clarity, it loses the front camera’s wider angles.

While the S Pen does not come with the Fold5, it is often bundled together. The S Pen for the Fold5 is thinner than before and can be stored easily in the accompanying phone case.

Writing with the S Pen on the Fold5 is smooth, fast and easy. You can write and draw without any fear of scratching the screen. Selecting and dragging items using the multitask or taskbar systems feels natural and intuitive.

Sometimes, during use, your palm may unintentionally interact with the touchscreen, which may cause issues. It takes getting used to, and some apps do support the ability to ignore unwanted interactions.

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