The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 are all about polish

After months of leaks and rumours, Samsung has revealed its latest foldable phones: Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. This year, Samsung's new bendy devices focus on polish and refinement. Both are thinner and have a zero-gap hinge that allows them to finally fold flat. The Z Fold 5 is lighter, while the Galaxy Z Flip 5 benefits from a much larger external display.   

However, this refinement has come at a cost. Both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 have a higher starting price than their predecessors. You'll pay a minimum of $1,649 for a Galaxy Z Flip 5, or $2,599 for the Galaxy Z Fold 5. That's a $150 and $100 increase on last year's entry-level models, respectively. The Z Flip 5 now starts with 256GB of storage, with Samsung discontinuing the 128GB model. 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 start today ahead of an August 18 release date. As tends to be the case with Samsung phones, there are a whole lot of pre-order bonuses.

No matter where you pre-order your foldable from, you'll get a free memory upgrade. For example, if you order a 256GB Galaxy Z Flip 5, you'll get the 512GB model at no extra cost. 

On top of this, Optus, Vodafone, and Telstra are all running their own unique pre-order offers.

If you pre-order either phone from Optus, you'll get a bonus Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, valued at $849 and $349, respectively. 

If you pre-order from Vodafone, you'll get $500 of extra trade-in credit with the Galaxy Z Flip 5, or $700 of extra trade-in credit with the Galaxy Z Fold 5

If you pre-order either phone from Telstra, you'll get a $200 discount (across the life of your plan) and a $500 trade-in bonus. 

Going direct through Samsung gets you a $300 trade-in bonus with the Z Flip 5, or a $500 trade-in bonus with the Z Fold 5. You'll also get a free year of Samsung Care Plus no matter which phone you buy, or 50% off a two-year subscription. If you add a Galaxy Tab S9 or Galaxy Watch 6 to your order, you'll save 5% on your new foldable, tablet, and/or watch. 

Complete outright pricing for the phones is as follows:

Here are the cheapest 36-month Galaxy Z Flip 5 plans:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 5G 512GB Plans

Telstra

Telstra $84 Essential Upfront Mobile Plan 180GB data Telstra 5G Network in selected areas with 5G devices 36 mths device payments Deal: Get $10 off for first 12 months on new Upfront Essential Mobile Plan. New services only. Ends 05.10.26 $125.36/mth Min. cost $1,922.96 Link not supplied

$125.36/mth (plan + phone) Min. cost $1,922.96

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And here are the cheapest 36-month Galaxy Z Fold 5 plans:

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 5G 512GB Plans

Telstra

Telstra $84 Essential Upfront Mobile Plan 180GB data Telstra 5G Network in selected areas with 5G devices 36 mths device payments Deal: Get $10 off for first 12 months on new Upfront Essential Mobile Plan. New services only. Ends 05.10.26 $151.75/mth Min. cost $2,873 Link not supplied

$151.75/mth (plan + phone) Min. cost $2,873

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The Galaxy Z Fold 5's biggest improvements are design related. It has the aforementioned zero-gap hinge, which means it folds entirely flat. Previous Z Fold models have had a visible gap between halves when folded shut. Similarly, the Z Fold 5 has a less prominent display crease. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is also 10g lighter and 2.4mm thinner than last year's model.

There's still S Pen support, but it's again an optional extra. There is however a new Z Fold 5 case with a mostly flush storage solution for the S Pen. 

Other specifications have largely stayed the same: displays haven't changed, you get the same trio of rear cameras (although backed by a new sensor), and the battery still has a 4,440mAh capacity. The Z Fold 5 does however have a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. 

On top of the zero-gap hinge shared with the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Galaxy Z Flip 5's biggest improvement is the much larger external display. Measuring it at 3.4-inch, the new screen represents a big step up from the comparatively tiny 1.9-inch screen on last year's model.

Despite the larger size, the external display is mostly limited to notifications and widgets. Samsung has however redesigned widgets for the new screen, and there are select games you can play on it.

Competing devices like the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra feature similarly large external displays and are a bit more versatile. On the Razr 40 Ultra, the external display can run any Android app (although not all of them suit the squarish aspect ratio).

Like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 keeps the same cameras as last year's model, but benefits from a new sensor under the hood. 

Here are the complete specs for both phones:

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 is available in a choice of Mint, Graphite, Cream, and Lavender. You can also pick from exclusive Grey, Blue, Green, and Yellow colourways on the Samsung website. 

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is available in a choice of Phantom Black, Icy Blue, and Cream. There are also Grey and Blue models available if you order direct through Samsung.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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