So, do you think that smartphones are getting boring? Well, can your smartphone do this?

This?

Or this?

Yep, this year I found that the Z Flip5 to be a little more appealing compared to Z Fold5, but there is just one problem… Let me explain.

Now, I will be breaking down this in-depth review based on what is it like to use this new and improved outer screen, a.k.a. the Flex Window.

What is it like to take advantage of the flippable form factor or the Flex Mode? How the cameras are, and finally, the battery performance.

 

⚠ Important Settings

Now, before anything, there are 3 things that you must do before you even use the Z Flip5:

First is to enable everything under the Cover Screen settings by heading to the Widget section. In there, especially the “Apps” which is not turned on by default, for you to have a proper app experience in this Flex Window form. 

The second thing to do is to go to the Flex Mode Panel settings and toggle on “Use Main Screen Navigation on the Cover Screen” and toggle on “Apps allowed on the cover screen” too. Otherwise, there will be a lot of limitations on what you can do on this particular cover screen or the Flex Window. 

The third and final thing to do is to toggle on the Flex Mode panel, which is under there as well.

 

📱 Flex Window

First, let’s start with the experience of using this Flex Window. 

This improved screen indeed made me use the phone more in this particular folded form. Firstly, since I’ve always been so used to big phones, it is very refreshing to use a phone to type and scroll with just a single hand. And whenever I use this phone in this particular form factor, people around me go like 😲 !

Speaking of one hand, because it closes the phone flat, you can’t open the phone with a single hand easily, since there’s absolutely no gap, which is not a big deal. And of course, I’m sure everyone prefers this because I’d rather have the phone close flat to avoid any dust or debris or even sand going in between the phone screen. Which, in return, could cause a lot of scratches in there in the screen.

Now, usually, I would use this screen first when I get any sort of notification. And about 80% of the time, I’ll just reply to it directly in this particular form factor. And if I really needed to write a longer text, then I will probably just open up the phone.

What’s cool is that if you’re typing halfway in the folded form factor, you can flip open the phone and continue on from that. Now that, for me, is great software integration at its best. 

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Then, all the notifications are found when you swipe toward the left. And if you don’t unlock the phone, you can’t view the content of the apps’ notifications. For example, if you get a message from WhatsApp, it shows the WhatsApp icon, but it doesn’t show you what the exact message is, which is great for privacy. 

There are no drop-down notifications at a glance. So if someone gives you several texts at the same time, like how you would see on regular notification style, you can just view the recent message being sent by them, but you can’t see the entire conversation.

At first, I thought that the 60Hz display would hinder my experience when I use it daily since a lot of flagship smartphones already have up to 120Hz. But the good news is that since it flowed very well because ultimately the idea of using this screen is not to use it as much as the inner screen. 

Another little thing to note is that if you want to turn off the screen, instead of pressing the power button once like you would usually do on a typical smartphone, you can simply tap the screen twice to turn off and turn on the screen. 

Then, the fingerprint sensor over here was overall great whenever I was trying to unlock the phone in this particular form factor, which is great to know.

Speaking of the screen, if you turn it this way, it kind of looks like a folder. So probably should have called it the “Folder Screen”? 

…Fine, Flex Window sounds better. 

Now, when you answer a phone call while it is in this mode, the call will go into speaker mode, which makes sense. And if you need to have a more private or longer conversation, just flip open the phone and switch from the loudspeaker to the phone’s inner speaker and you’re good to go.

Now, there are several apps readily available in this particular form factor. But if you really want to go all out in using this particular screen for other additional apps like Instagram, Notion, Google Chrome, and more, you can always download Samsung’s Good Lock app in the Galaxy store.

And then use the MultiStar extension under the Life Up tab, choose the “I Love Galaxy Foldable” then Launcher Widget, which will allow you to select all the other apps in this particular Flex Window.

Then add the Good Lock launcher as a widget, and you’ll see all the additional apps over there. But keep in mind that some of the apps are not fully optimized for this screen.

For example, TikTok, where the autoplay is a hit or miss.

And here’s where you can also enable the Game Widget, which allows you to play games on this particular screen, which was kind of cool if you’re really into that.

Finally, another cool thing that was shown during my visit at the Flip Market in Korea after the Unpacked event was the cool Flex Window animation, where you can buy a specific NFC card based on what theme that you like, place it at the bottom side of the phone using a case, and it will project an animation based on the theme of the card using NFC. Now, that was something really cool to add that customization factor.

 

📱 Flex Mode

Next, let’s talk about how the Flex Mode would give you benefits compared to other non-folding smartphones. 

Firstly, the Flex Mode panel capabilities are supported in almost all apps since the phone is in its 5th generation. So that is the benefit of creating 5th generation devices since developers have more time to have their apps featured over here.

Now personally, I’ve been using it with Canva. And the idea of having a nice little mouse cursor on top of the screen and a full touchpad at the bottom was really lovely. 

And since there is a trackpad, you can easily do things like scrolling with two fingers on the apps like Instagram, and even go back with a typical going back swipe. 

Then, if you want to type something on Gmail, the virtual keyboard will appear to give you an easier typing experience. And you can always hide the keyboard and resume using the touchpad right after. 

And if you’re like me who loves watching YouTube videos while having lunch or dinner, this is a really good “baked-in stand” and I love how the bottom of the screen has this player mode to scroll through the video timeline easily and has full player controls. 

So yes, this Flex mode alone is a HUGE reason why I really love this phone, and I’m sure you will too when you use this phone daily. 

And if you love taking photos or TikTok videos or Instagram Reels of yourself, you don’t have to grab that girlfriend or boyfriend to force them to be a “human tripod” anymore, because this Flex Mode is also amazing, which brings me to my next experience, which is the camera experience.

 

📷 Camera Experience

Now firstly, let’s talk about taking photos on the Flex Window. If you love selfies, this phone will be your best friend.

The idea of having a way much bigger screen as a viewfinder makes it so much easier not only to take selfies of yourself but also group selfies too.

And I love how you can use the ultra-wide camera as well, which means that you can get even more people for a bigger group when it comes to taking selfies. 

However, keep in mind that if you are taking photos in this mode, you can only preview back images that you have just recently taken, where you can’t scroll back to view the other images. But of course, if you want to view your other pictures, you can always head to the Gallery app if you’re using the Good Lock launcher.

Another thing that you might need to get used to is that always remember the two types of folding orientation, where if the cameras are below, make sure to look down below instead of looking up like you probably used to because if you want them on top after closing the phone, you’ll need to turn the phone around to get the cameras on top instead of below. Not a big thing, but I always tend to look up when I take selfies when the phone camera is down below. 

Speaking of turning the phone around, I particularly love using the phone in what I call the “Camcorder mode” when taking videos, which not only makes it look cool but also gives a better grip as well. 

Now, if you’re not using the “Camcorder mode”, you can always use it in this Flex Mode too to take some really nice vertical shots, like Instagram stories. By having the phone nicely rested in the palm of your hand.

But if you’re taking photos when you flip open the phone, you can expect great results both for the ultra-wide and the main lenses during the day and night, including amazing portrait modes for the rear lenses, whether it’s for objects, pets, and humans too.

And while you can use this selfie camera when you flip open the phone, which was decent, I would just recommend using the outer rear cameras, as mentioned earlier, since it looks extremely nice, as you can see in this side-to-side comparison when using the inner screen selfie camera compared to the outer screen. And that’s the same for photos and videos as well, where the quality is miles apart. 

 

🔋 Battery

Finally, let’s talk about what I was a little disappointed with, which was the battery life. Because while this is a great content-creation machine, prepare to carry a power bank if you really want to use this phone the whole entire day. 

I tested the phone daily for two different scenarios – one with heavy use of video and photo taking, and I got an average of 2 hours and 36 minutes at 10% battery with dark mode turned on. 

Then the second scenario is when I use the phone a bit more casually, with more social media scrolling, watching YouTube, and taking some pictures and videos here and there, which I got about 3 hours of screen-on time instead. 

So yes, this is the only Achilles heel for the phone. So do prepare to bring a power bank with you if you’re one of those super users.

 

✅ Conclusion

In conclusion, my overall thought is that this new Flip5 indeed brings new life. If you want a new kind of smartphone experience, especially with the Flex Mode and a new and improved Flex Window too. 

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Now, yes, the battery life is quite a downer, but for me, since I live with my backpack when I’m out the whole day, so putting a power bank in there isn’t a big deal. And with that, my friend, yes, I would fully recommend this phone. And as for me, I have indeed joined the Flip Side.