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TechTranscript
00:00Okay, here they are.
00:01Galaxy Flip 5.
00:02Galaxy Fold 5.
00:03Quite a few upgrades.
00:04I'm going to run you through everything that's new with these guys and at the end of the
00:07video tell you which one I think I actually might buy for myself.
00:11Okay, let's start with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 because Samsung sell far more of these than
00:16the Fold, mainly because it's quite a bit cheaper, but it's also geared less towards
00:20pro users and heavy multitasking and more for the novelty and nostalgia of having a
00:25flip phone and all the fun ways it allows you to use the camera.
00:28So as you can probably guess, the headline upgrades include this massive cover screen.
00:33We also have this new zero gap flex hinge, so for the first time it folds completely
00:38flat.
00:39They've upgraded the Gorilla Glass and made the flip a bit more durable, although sadly
00:42there's no change to the look or the feel of this crease.
00:45Side by side with last year's Flip 4, I didn't notice any significant difference.
00:50On the inside, we have the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is paired with 8GB of RAM and
00:55either 256 or 512GB of storage because they've actually scrapped the previous 128GB base
01:01model.
01:02Although it is actually worth mentioning that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip is actually the
01:06mid-life refreshed upgraded version, although Qualcomm for whatever reason aren't calling
01:10it the 8 Plus Gen 2, so maybe we have to call it the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Gen 2.
01:16But anyway, as well as the nice little boost in performance, the new chip also contributes
01:20to the battery and the camera because actually from a hardware perspective, they haven't
01:25really changed at all.
01:26I mean, I may as well just show you the Flip 4 because the Flip 5 has the exact same 3700mAh
01:31battery, same 25W wired charging, same 10W wireless and even though this was an upgrade
01:37over the Flip 3 in terms of battery size, I was hoping that maybe we'd see something
01:42a little bit new here with the Flip 5, sadly not.
01:44In terms of the charging speeds, I feel like they've just completely forgotten about it.
01:48Everyone else has moved on to 50, 60W or higher, except for Apple maybe.
01:52It's not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to see at least a bit of an increase
01:55in charging speed at some point.
01:58As for the camera, we also have the same 12MP main and 12MP ultrawides from last year on
02:03the cover here, plus also the 10MP selfie on the inside, which actually does now have
02:08a slightly wider aperture, but otherwise the hardware is identical.
02:12Although again, Samsung do promise improvements in the form of more detail, lower noise and
02:17smoother video thanks to the new chip's ISP.
02:20To be fair though, even if the camera upgrade isn't that significant and once again does
02:24not match the quality of the S23 series, particularly the Ultra, generally what we find with the
02:28Flips in particular and also to some extent with the Folds, the Samsung cameras do tend
02:33to be better than the competition.
02:34This is the Oppo N2 Flip.
02:36We've also got the brand new Motorola RAZR 40 and 40 Ultra, neither of which have the
02:40best cameras.
02:41Obviously, I'll test it properly in my full review, so make sure you have subscribed and
02:44stay tuned for that.
02:45But I guess I've come away just a little bit underwhelmed that they didn't do more with
02:49the camera.
02:50But let's get back to the fun stuff.
02:51Let's talk about this cover screen.
02:53Because even if the rest of the Flip, aside from maybe now falling flat, feels like a
02:57relatively incremental upgrade, this is huge.
03:00In all the ways.
03:01This 60Hz AMOLED, basically square cover screen with a slight cutout for the cameras, is 180%
03:08bigger than the Fold 4.
03:09And it makes all of Samsung's dozen or so widgets infinitely more useful and usable.
03:14Checking notifications, responding to messages by voice or with a full QWERTY keyboard and
03:19that's on any app, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, Threads.
03:22And for quick shortcuts, Samsung Pay, tickets you may need to scan, and it's just kind of
03:26a nice way of interacting with your phone without having to fully open it and then maybe
03:30getting lost in emails or endless TikToks.
03:33And to answer the big question, can you run full fat third party apps on it, yes, kind
03:39of.
03:40Opening it up, if you go into the cover screen settings, you'll find this shortcut for the
03:43Samsung Labs menu, where you can allow apps, not just widgets, on the cover screen.
03:48Now being in Labs suggests it's still a bit of an experimental feature, and right now
03:52Samsung tell me there's about a dozen or so third party apps that are officially supported,
03:56like YouTube for example, but obviously given this small square-ish aspect ratio, some apps
04:01will work better than others.
04:02Still, I am very excited for this, and not just for switching out MrWhosaboss's custom
04:07photo wallpaper with my own.
04:09This is how YouTubers mark their territory, by the way.
04:12But for me, it's all about this camera, because obviously the benefit with flips and folds
04:16is you can use the higher quality main cameras for your selfies, and either use the camera
04:20app on the cover screen, or just use it as a viewfinder.
04:23And now with the dual screen preview, if you're taking a nice photo of your friend, the screen
04:27is big enough so they can actually see themselves now without needing a pair of binoculars.
04:31You can switch between photo, portrait and video, which tops out at 4K60, and you can
04:36pinch out to the ultra wide or to zoom in, although we are still missing a dedicated
04:40telephoto lens.
04:42And then in flex mode, which is basically where you fold the flip, you fold the flip,
04:46unflip the flip, you know, when it's not in the regular tall flat mode, if you will.
04:50Flex mode splits the screen into two, giving you different options.
04:53For example, the camera viewfinder at the top and the controls at the bottom.
04:57And being a flip phone, it is its own tripod stand, which is very handy for popping it
05:01down in places and just getting more creative with your shots.
05:04And I do also really like the taller aspect ratio we get with the flip's 6.7 inch 120
05:09hertz screen because it doesn't feel that different from a regular phone, but the little
05:13bit of extra height makes having two apps and split screen a lot more usable.
05:17So bigger cover screen, we have the full flat design, the faster chip, the more durable
05:21glass, but most importantly, new colors, including this new mint flavor, as well as graphite,
05:27cream and lavender.
05:28Plus, there'll be a few online exclusive colors and I'll leave a link for those in the description
05:33below.
05:34As for the price, well, outside of the US, it has got more expensive.
05:37Here in the UK, the Flip 5 will start at £1,099, which is a hundred quid more than
05:42last year with the Flip 4, although the upside is it does now start with 256 gigs of storage
05:47rather than 128.
05:48So you are paying more, but you're getting more storage.
05:51Although to their credit, Samsung do offer some very tasty pre-order bonuses, such as
05:55doubling your storage for free, and also you can get up to 650 quid if you trade in your
05:59old phone.
06:00Now, less flipping, more folding, let's talk about the Z Fold 5, which may be bigger and
06:05more expensive and a little less popular than the Flip, but unlike the Flip, which
06:09gives you a regular screen and then a tiny cover screen, the Fold gives you a regular,
06:14albeit still too narrow cover screen, but also a big tablet screen.
06:18So functionally, you're getting more with the Fold.
06:20And Samsung software, with up to three apps in split screen and a fourth pop-out window,
06:24Flex mode, the S Pen, DeX, up to a terabyte of storage, the five cameras, including the
06:29usual wide, ultra wide and three times telephoto, plus the two selfies, including the still
06:34kind of rubbish, but cool looking four megapixel underscreen camera on the inside.
06:38The Fold 5 does everything, except maybe make you breakfast in the morning.
06:42Now the upgrades are broadly similar to the Flip 5, although we don't have the fancy
06:45new cover screen, as much as I would personally like it if Samsung tweaked the aspect ratio
06:49a bit and made this cover screen wider.
06:51However, the Fold 5 does have an upgrade in terms of screen brightness.
06:54They're around 20% brighter than last year, now matching the S23 Ultra.
06:59The Fold 5 is also thinner.
07:00We have this zero gap hinge, more durable glass, including Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on
07:04the outside and 25% stronger UTG glass on the inside, and still with IPX8 water resistance.
07:10On the inside, we have that Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Gen 2.
07:14The battery is also still the same size as last year, 4,400 mAh, although Samsung do
07:19tell me that with this new chip and also a 38% bigger vapor chamber cooler, for gaming
07:24in particular, the Fold 5 should last over an hour longer than the 4.
07:28And again, like the Flip 5, the camera hardware is broadly the same, although we can still
07:33accept some upgrades due to the new ISP.
07:35So that's all fine, but really the highlight is being able to fold this thing completely
07:39flat because it does make a difference.
07:41Aesthetically, it looks a lot smarter and functionally, it reduces the chance of any
07:45debris or grit or sand or whatever getting in and causing havoc, and it also means they've
07:49been able to make this 2.4mm thinner, and they've also reduced the weight by 10g.
07:54Which don't get me wrong, is a very welcome improvement, but it feels like where Samsung
07:58was once the leader and the innovator, now they're kind of falling behind the competition,
08:03at least in terms of design.
08:05This is the Honor Magic V2, which I recently made a video on, sadly they're not actually
08:09launching it outside of China, but this is slimmer, it's lighter, and they've packed
08:13in a much bigger battery than the Fold 5.
08:16And it also has a more comfortable 20x9 aspect ratio for the front screen.
08:20In terms of form factor for a foldable, this is what I want.
08:24I had also kind of hoped Samsung might reduce this crease a little bit, but like the Flip
08:285, it doesn't really look or feel any different this year.
08:31And to be honest, except for the new colours, and if you're looking at it from the side
08:34when closed, you'd be hard pressed to tell the Fold 4 and the 5 apart.
08:38I mean that's not a bad thing, the Fold 5 still looks and feels great, and while as
08:41I say I'm not a huge fan of the narrower 6.2 inch cover screen, it does allow for this
08:45bigger 7.6 inch tablet.
08:48Which unlike, say, a Pixel Fold, gives you a whole lot more room for having multiple
08:52apps side by side, and the handy taskbar at the bottom makes a return with easy drag
08:56and drop split screening modes.
08:57The S Pen Fold Edition is also available to buy separately, and the good news is they've
09:01significantly slimmed down the S Pen case for the Fold 5.
09:05In terms of colours, this icy blue Fold 5 is the new hero model, and I think probably
09:09the one I would go for, but it also comes in Phantom Black, Cream, and of course a couple
09:13extra online exclusive flavours.
09:15The final upgrade for the Fold 5 is the price, that's also gone up from $1649 last year
09:21to $1749 this year, so £100 year on year, and that's coming with the same 256GB storage.
09:27And if you have very deep pockets, there's also a 512GB and a 1TB model available.
09:32So it's thinner, it's lighter, it folds flat, we have the faster chip, the more durable
09:37glass, and the marginally improved battery and camera.
09:39That is about it for the Fold 5 this year.
09:42Now to be fair, I have only had like a couple of hours with these phones.
09:44This is just a first impression, so my full review will be coming soon, as well as tons
09:47of comparisons, so make sure you have hit that subscribe button.
09:50But I've come away thinking these feel like a bit more just refinements, like more complete
09:55versions of the same phone.
09:57There's nothing fundamentally different here, I think the Flip 5 and its cover screen is
10:00obviously the highlight.
10:02In terms of flip versus fold, well, honestly they're just two different target audiences
10:05and also two very different price points.
10:07So one isn't better than the other, but what I will say is I have pre-ordered a Flip 5.
10:13But what do you think?
10:14Are you impressed with the upgrades?
10:15Tempted to pick one up?
10:16If you do fancy checking it out, then I will leave links in the description below, which
10:19does include Samsung's very tasty upgrade deals.
10:22And make sure you have hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on my full review
10:25coming very soon.