The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is one of the best folding phones you can buy — but maybe you shouldn’t get it. Consider these Z Fold 5 alternatives instead.
Though foldable phones are still a smaller part of the smartphone world, they appeal to users who want something more from their phones. Having a phone that can become a mini tablet opens up a whole new world for productivity and creativity.
If you’re in the market for a foldable, you may be considering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, which is one of the more popular choices. But it’s not the only foldable out there. Here are some alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 that you should look at first.OnePlus Open
The strongest competitor to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the OnePlus Open. Even though this is OnePlus’ first foldable, while Samsung has done this for five years, OnePlus made an exceptionally good foldable right out of the gate.
Not everyone likes the incredibly tall and narrow cover display on the Z Fold 5, as it makes using the cover display a bit awkward with a cramped keyboard. The OnePlus Open has a 6.3-inch display that is more in line with standard smartphone displays, so you don’t need to compromise just because you have a foldable. It’s also the most lightweight foldable on the market, so it’s comfortable to hold.
OnePlus’ Flexion Hinge allows the device to open up fully flat without having to apply extra pressure. The inner display also features an anti-reflective layer to reduce glare. And when you combine it with the 120Hz refresh rate and 2,800-nit peak brightness (for both screens), then this is one of the best foldables to use outdoors in bright sunlight.
One of the best reasons for a foldable is for productivity and multitasking, and OnePlus Open excels at that. It’s equipped with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage, all while running OxygenOS 13. It also features the Open Canvas, which lets you run multiple apps in a space that exceeds the physical screen space (more room to work with), allows you to resize windows at will, has a desktop-like taskbar, and can even save your app pairings for split-screen mode.
For cameras, the OnePlus Open features a triple-lens rear camera system with a 48-megapixel main lens, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The cover display selfie camera is 32MP while the inner display selfie camera is 20MP. Since this is a foldable, you can use the rear cameras for selfies by using the cover display as a viewfinder, which is incredibly convenient. The OnePlus Open also has Hasselblad color tuning, so you get beautiful colors and white balance in your photos.
OnePlus put in a larger battery in the OnePlus Open (4,805mAh) compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (4,400mAh). You’ll get at least one full day and then some on a single charge, and it charges up quickly with 67W charging speeds (the Galaxy Z Fold 5 only has 25W charging but does have wireless and reverse wireless).
The OnePlus Open is one of the best foldables available, and it actually has a cheaper starting price than Samsung.
