When I heard Samsung was releasing a flip phone, I found myself asking why.
Flip phones were a staple of the 90s and 2000s and, looking back, weren’t as trendy as we all pretended they were.
I assumed that Samsung was just using nostalgia mixed with consumers' ever-expanding desire for something different from the norm and it would be a flip phone for the sake of being a flip phone.
Now, I’m several weeks into my time with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 and I am gutted at the thought of having to give this back and return to my more traditional Samsung Galaxy 21.
Almost everything about the Flip5 is impressive and the fact it fits so nicely in your pocket folded in half is truly the convenient icing on the technologically advanced cake.
Buyers can opt for the basic 256GB of storage or double that capacity. (Image: Supplied)
The specs
Starting at around $1500, the Flip5 comes with either 256GB or 512GB of storage. With a 6.7-inch screen when unfolded and a 3.4-inch exterior screen when folded, it has all the benefits of a more portable device, while still being an excellent size when extended.
The foldable screen is incredible, offering 1080 x 2640 pixels, 120hz, HDR 10+ and a massive 1750 nits (peak), which means it always looks vibrant and clear.
This is all encased within an armour aluminium frame and is IPX8 water resistant (1.5 metres for 30 minutes).
it's running on Snapdragon 8 Gen, a quad core CPU and equipped with a 3700mAh battery, so you have top-of-the-line processing power with a battery life that can handle it.
It has 12-megapixel dual cameras and the ability to shoot in 4K (high-definition video) at both 30 or 60 frames per second (fps), as well as an additional selfie camera you can use when the phone is folded that offers 10 megapixels.
A side-mounted fingerprint scanner also doubles as the unlock button. This wasn’t the most accurate fingerprint scanner, but the convenience of it doubling as the unlock button meant you needed fewer steps to access the phone, although the small size of the scanner did often require repeat reads of my finger to unlock.
The only real downside I found when it came to the Flip5's specs was the lack of a card slot to expand your phone's storage, although I never ran out of space despite shooting a music video.
The fold
The obvious thing that sets the Flip5 from other phones on the market is its ability to reduce its size by half and fit more easily in your pocket.
There is something incredibly satisfying about being able to have such a large display that is also so convenient to have on your person.
When it's folded, a second screen is available on the exterior for quick access to message notifications, the calendar and alarms.
This further makes use of the phone's ability to fold in half and gives it even more functionality, taking the fold aspect away from being merely gimmicky.
You can also use it as a display screen for taking selfies without having to open the phone, which definitely makes selfie-taking a lot easier than having to hold a fully extended phone at arm's length to get your mugshot.
The Flip5 has the ability to half-fold into an L shape. This means you can stand the phone on its own and some apps will even allow you to turn the bottom of the screen into a touchpad or keyboard, giving the Flip5 the feel of a tiny laptop computer.
As these types of phones continue to rise in popularity, so too will the number of apps that offer functionality with the use of a touchpad and mouse pointer.
You can also use the fold to split the phone into what are essentially two separate screens and have a different app on each, further expanding your ability to multitask.
Unfortunately, there is a clear crease in the foldable screen all the time. This is both noticeable visually and physically, and although it is something you quickly adjust to, it makes the phone look less appealing.
Hopefully, this is something that future versions of the Flip5 are able to improve on, although it is a small price to pay for the functions and benefits of a foldable phone.
The ability to deal with all degrees of light is an awesome bonus benefit of the Flip5's camera.
(Image: Ashton Brown)
The camera
I was blown away by the camera on the Flip5. Even using the standard settings for the dual lenses provided impressive results.
I was specifically impressed by the way the camera dealt with light, providing beautiful, high-quality, professional-looking photos with incredible clarity and resolution.
Most of my photos needed little to no editing because the camera was able to make me look like a semi-professional photographer without much effort.
The video filming capabilities are equally impressive. I shot a music video for local musician Mikey_Videotape in the span of a morning and the results of the footage were spectacular.
Even before colour grading, the footage has come out incredibly well, making full use of the 4K capabilities at 60fps.
The ease with which the lenses focus and shift focus between foreground and background objects meant I was able to provide a variety of depth to my shots. I was able to film more than 100 small scenes, ranging from 10 seconds to several minutes, without running out of space and with no noticeable lapses in processing speed.
A still from one of the music videos. I filmed more than 100 small scenes without running out of space.
(Image: Ashton Brown)
Verdict
The Samsung Z Flip5 is easily the best phone I have ever had the pleasure of using.
It manages to be large without being bulky, has incredible specs, quick processing power, a beautiful display, excellent battery life and a camera capable of taking high-quality photos and video – and all at a reasonable price.
The Samsung Z Flip5 is a must-have for fans of impressive technology who want all the benefits of a larger smartphone with very, very few of the downsides.
