Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 5 is ready to see off challenges from Oppo and Motorola and prove that it’s still the flipping best
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 is finally here, and the phone has landed as a pretty direct riposte to the latest Motorola Razr: do your best, we’ll still do better.
When Motorola’s Razr+ (or Razr 40 Ultra, the name varies annoyingly by market) launched last month its expansive outer screen was a genuine first, and a welcome surprise – after a few years as the underdog, the company finally seemed to be punching above its weight.
Stretching across most of the phone’s outer side, even down and around the two camera lenses, the panel is big enough to play games and even run full apps – albeit slightly squished.
Motorola getting there first could have taken the wind out of Samsung’s sails a little, but after using both phones I don’t really think that the Korean tech giant has much to worry about when the Z Flip 5 goes on sale on 11 August – especially since it’s an exact match for the Razr’s price at $999/£1,049.
Sure, the Razr’s 3.6in outer display is technically a little larger than the Z Flip 5’s 3.4in panel, and the 120Hz refresh rate doesn’t hurt either. Spec for spec, Motorola has it. But specs don’t tell the whole story.
Samsung’s enlarged cover display – officially known as the ‘Flex Window’, but I shan’t be calling it that – is all about polish.
Where the Razr wraps its screen around the cameras in a way that’s as impractical as it is eye-catching, the Z Flip 5’s extra screen stops just short, but drops a little lower on its left side for an attractively offset look.
It means that, unlike the Razr, you’ll never have the cameras blocking bits of the display. And thanks to starting the screen closer to the hinge, you actually get almost as large a panel on the Samsung phone, without the interference.
