Galaxy Z Fold 5: Samsung’s biggest weakness is the Fold’s greatest strength?

Huawei and Xiaomi aside, Google and OnePlus are shaping up as Samsung’s two major competitors in 2023 thanks to the international launches of the Google Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open (this really is the name) but who said Samsung’s “slow innovation” isn’t the way to do it? It works for Apple, doesn’t it!

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Currently, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is only available with 512GB of storage at Samsung, plus it comes with a Verizon plan (no unlocked models available). You can save up to $559 on the smartphone with eligible trade-ins.

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Galaxy Z Fold 5, Pixel Fold, OnePlus Open - Samsung’s “reliable” but “boring” Fold 5 might win the 2023 folding phone race even if it’s not “the best” foldable

Take the newly released Google Pixel Fold… At a first glance, Google’s first foldable looks sleeker than any Galaxy Fold from the past four years but as some news stories surrounding the durability of the phone have shown, that seems to come at a cost of reliability.

For starters, the Pixel Fold didn’t survive JerryRigEverything’s exaggerated durability test due to a weak construction around the antenna lines, which proved to be a weak link, allowing the Pixel Fold to bend backwards. And on a separate (much more realistic) occasion, ArsTechnica’s Ron seems to have discovered a more concerning design flaw in the Pixel Fold’s build, related to an exposed part of the OLED screen, which can easily lead to a total breakage. As it actually did for Ron.

In a nutshell, despite Google’s great attempt at making the Pixel Fold visually appealing (at least when it's folded), you can tell the company’s first foldable is… a first-gen product. The huge bezels, the Galaxy-like crease in the middle of the inner display, and the cheap, reflective plastic screen protector (that doesn’t go all the way to the edges) further speak to Google’s lack of experience (or effort?) in the field of foldables.

OnePlus is “Open” to making a better folding phone than Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 but pulling that off on the first try will be… hard

Google aside, I’m extremely hopeful about OnePlus’ first attempt at a foldable as leaked renders make the OnePlus Open (again, that’s the name - no kidding) look super promising! The Honor Magic V2 is another potential Samsung beater but only as long as it launches internationally (although it most certainly won’t make it all the way to the US).

But again, my main concern here is that no matter how sleek the Pixel Fold and the OnePlus Open look, it’s going to be extremely difficult to make them as reliable as the 5th gen Galaxy Z Fold - Samsung’s already had five (or more) years to try, fail, fix, and repeat. That’s a ton of trying, failing, and repeating.



Even if I’m glad Google has entered the foldable market, and even if I’m truly pumped to see what OnePlus has done with the OnePlus Open, considering the Chinese company’s recent revival, I do think it’s going to be the Galaxy Z Fold 5 that will deliver the reliable folding phones most people need/want to get.

But, of course, that’s just an educated guess on my end! On top of that, I genuinely hope I’m wrong, because I do believe OnePlus can make a “perfect” folding phone from the first try. In the end, let’s not forget that OnePlus is fully backed up by the BBK group, which isn’t lacking the funds, technical expertise, and experience to make a killer folding phone like the Oppo Find N2.

Galaxy Z Fold 5 might be the most reliable folding phone on the market but a killer OnePlus foldable could be Samsung’s wake-up call (Good luck, OnePlus!)

In the end, folding phones are still at this stage where reliability might prove to be more pivotal to their success than “sleekness” or the “wow factor” some of them are aiming for - if that makes any sense to you. That being said, I still maintain my general belief that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 might be one to skip this year - at least if you’re looking for some exciting hardware upgrades.

I wouldn’t expect the Fold 5 to “wow” anyone, considering it looks suspiciously similar to the Fold 4, which looks identical to the Fold 3. Save for the nearly gapless hinge design, of course, which is a very welcome (but very late!) upgrade.

And yes, I still think Samsung is being painfully slow in delivering foldable hardware upgrades, which is why I wish the competition extra luck in making something that acts as the wake-up call for the lazy (but probably reliable) Galaxy Z Fold 5 and its creator.