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- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: A device that boasts refinements
It’s not hard to imagine that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series has the highest market presence when focussing on large-sized foldables. Not only is the device lineup five generations in, but its version of Android works well across the globe with hardly any limitations. And if you throw in the advantage provided by real-world feedback, it makes every new generation stand out as more refined compared to the competition.
The argument also stands true for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, but despite its added refinement, the competition in the foldable market has never been more stiff. Here, we compare the hardware on Samsung’s large foldable against the other options you can buy today.
Price and Availability
If we consider the availability of devices, the most viable competition for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the 2023 Google Pixel Fold and HONOR Magic V2, which might receive its global unveiling at IFA 2023 — it’s one of the many exciting announcements we expect will come at the trade show.
Regarding their prices, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google Pixel Fold start at USD 1,800. The HONOR Magic V2, on the other hand, starts at CNY 7,999, converting to about USD 1,300. But we all know that prices don’t work as direct currency conversions. Taxes and import duties play a significant role in altering the final price.
If you were to import an HONOR Magic V2 to the United States, either via Europe — after its global launch — or directly from China, you would end up paying around the USD 1,800 mark.
Delving more into availability, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is available for direct purchase in many more regions than the Pixel Fold and even the HONOR foldable. Hence, if you’re looking to get a hand on a foldable device and still have access to reasonable customer service, Samsung’s phone will be the better pick.
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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
Widest Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the latest foldable flagship in the lineup. It’s equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, a powerful triple rear camera, a large 6.2-inch cover and 7.6-inch main display, and a large battery that can last all day on a single charge.
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Google Pixel Fold
Compact Form Factor
$900 $1800 Save $900
The Pixel Fold is Google’s first foldable smartphone offering some of the finest hardware and software on the market. The device features a 5.8-inch cover display and a big 7.6-inch foldable display. It is powered by the Tensor G2 chipset and is backed by a 4,821 mAh battery.
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Honor Magic V2
The Thinnest Option
The Honor Magic V2 is the thinnest and lightest foldable phone on the market. The Magic V2 has a large 7.92-inch inner foldable display and a 6.43-inch cover display. It also features a triple camera array and runs on the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
Technical Specifications
|
Category |
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 |
HONOR Magic V2 |
Google Pixel Fold |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Cover display |
6.2-inch, AMOLED, 120Hz |
6.4-inch, OLED, 120Hz, 2,500 nits peak brightness |
5.8-inch, FHD+, OLED, 120Hz, 1,550 nits peak brightness |
|
Inner display |
7.6-inch, AMOLED, 120Hz, 1,750 nits peak brightness |
7.9-inch, OLED, 120Hz, 1,600 nits peak brightness |
7.6-inch, OLED, 120Hz, 1,450 nits peak brightness |
|
Processor |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
Google Tensor G2 |
|
Memory |
12GB |
16GB |
12GB RAM |
|
Storage |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
256GB, 512GB (UFS 3.1) |
|
Rear Cameras |
|
|
|
|
Front Camera |
|
|
|
|
Battery |
4,400 mAh |
5,000 mAh |
4,821 mAh |
|
Charging |
25W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse wireless |
66W wired wireless and reverse wireless charging |
30W fast wired charging, wireless charging |
|
Ports |
USB-C |
USB-C |
USB-C |
|
IP Rating |
IPX8 |
— |
IPX8 |
|
Colors |
Phantom Black, Cream, Icy Blue, Blue, Gray |
Black, Gold, Silk Purple, Silk Black (vegan leather) |
Obsidian, Porcelain |
|
Price |
From $1,799 |
From £1,400 (expected) |
From $1,799 |
Design
A common element between the foldables we’re looking at here is that they feature a book-style fold, opening up to give users access to a large canvas, while the cover display is the initial window into the smartphone’s capability.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 features a new hinge that allows it to fold flat for the first time in five generations, but the rest of its design remains unchanged and quite familiar. Even the IP rating doesn’t see an upgrade, sticking to the IPX8 standard we’ve seen earlier.
Coming to the Google Pixel Fold, the device is a lot more compact when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5; it features a downsized design, similar to the OPPO Find N2, and is also quite thin. Like the Galaxy Z Fold, it even features an IPX8 rating.
But of the three devices we’re looking at here, the HONOR Magic V2 stands out because of its 9.9 mm thickness when folded; this means it’s just a bit thicker when compared to most slab phones. When you look past its thickness and focus on other aspects, you’ll notice it has one of the best aspect ratios, meaning it’s comfortable to use folded and when it’s expanded.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 features a familiar setup, a 6.2-inch (2316 x 904) OLED cover display, and a 7.6-inch (2176 x 1812) OLED panel when open. Both displays support an adaptive refresh rate — 48-120Hz on the outer and 1-120Hz on the inner screen. Plus, to improve outdoor legibility, Samsung has upped the maximum brightness on the inside screen to 1,750 nits.
There isn’t much difference compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, barring the increased brightness on the inner display and the ability to refresh at 1Hz.
When it comes to the Google Pixel Fold, this device takes a different trajectory with its design. It has a more traditional slab phone-like design, featuring a wide 5.8-inch (2092 x 1080) OLED outer display and a 7.6-inch (2208 x 1840) OLED inner panel. Both have very similar brightness levels, too, 1,550 nits on the outside and 1,450 nits on the inside.
As for the HONOR Magic V2, it shifts the comparison back to a tall design format, with its 6.4-inch (1,060 x 2,376) outer display and 7.9-inch (2,156 x 2,344) inner one — both OLED panels here too — featuring 120Hz support.
Both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and HONOR Magic V2 support the use of a stylus; on the Samsung, you can use the S Pen for Fold on the inner screen, while with the HONOR, you can use its Magic Pencil stylus on both the external and internal displays.
Performance and Storage
Pocketnow / Adam Z. Lein
Moving onto performance, both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and HONOR Magic V2 feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. Now, while the Samsung features a custom version — with higher clock speeds on the CPU and GPU — we can assure you that there won’t be much difference in your day-to-day user experience. Most of that will come down to the software optimization the respective OEMs are able to bake into their operating systems.
As for the Google Pixel Fold, the device very clearly features a weaker Tensor G2 SoC — when it comes to processing and graphical prowess — but if you’re looking for software smarts and integration into features across the operating system, this is a remarkable offering.
Now, you will definitely want ample storage and RAM available, and to our pleasure, each device delivers. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 offers 12GB of RAM along with 256GB (starting model), 512GB, and 1TB. The Google Pixel Fold provides a similar amount of RAM — 12GB — and 256GB or 512GB of storage. The HONOR Magic V2 gives the best of both worlds, upping RAM to 16GB and storage variants of 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn’t switch up its camera hardware for 2023, shipping with the same triple lens system we saw on its predecessor. There’s the 50MP wide sensor with OIS and f/1.8 aperture, the 12MP ultrawide with f/1.8 aperture, and the 10MP telephoto with its f/2.4 aperture. Samsung says most of the improvements this generation will come from software enhancements partly enabled by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
As for the front cameras, there are two on the Samsung. First is the 4MP shooter, hidden under the inner display, and then there’s the 10MP unit on the cover screen.
The Pixel Fold joins the foldable fray with the backing of Google’s renowned imaging algorithm, and it surely won’t disappoint. Its hardware is also versatile, like the Galaxy Z Fold 5, with a triple camera system that boasts a 48MP wide camera with OIS and f/1.7 aperture, 10.8MP ultrawide with f/2.2 aperture, and 10.8MP telephoto shooter with 5x optical zoom and 20x Super Res Zoom.
There are two front cameras on the Pixel Fold, too, one on the inside and another on the outside, neither under the display. The sensor on the outer display is 9.5MP with f/2.2 aperture, and then there’s an 8MP shooter on the inner side.
Lastly, speaking of the HONOR Magic V2, there’s a triple camera system here too, and it looks quite capable too; the main camera is a 50MP main camera with f/1.9 aperture, then there’s another 50MP sensor used as the ultra-wide, and a 20MP telephoto zoom lens — capable of 2.5X optical zoom — rounds out the system. As for front cameras, there are two 16MP shooters embedded into each screen.
Battery
Source: HONOR
Battery capacity on each of these phones is a respectable amount for the foldable design, but the HONOR Magic V2 stands out for pushing boundaries.
The Galaxy Z Fold ships with a 4,400 mAh cell that supports 25W charging; Samsung says it can get the device up to 50% in 30 minutes. There’s also the option to use wireless charging, 15W to charge up the device itself and 5W to charge others.
The Pixel Fold increases the battery capacity on offer to users, shipping an approximate 4,800 mAh cell with support for 30W wired charging and wireless charging. Unfortunately, this device does not feature the ability to reverse wireless charge other hardware.
Last is the HONOR Magic V2, which comes with a 5,000 mAh cell using a combination of silicon-carbon in its making. This allows the unit to be smaller than the other cells we’ve seen in foldables and is one of the primary reasons behind the foldable’s thin profile. As for charging, the device supports 66W fast charging, although wireless charging hardware is missing.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5: A device that boasts refinements
Of the three devices we’ve compared here, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the best pick if you want the best productivity experience. Its software has a few years of developmental advantage, not to mention it is the most accessible of the three. But if you’re looking for a smaller foldable that expands into a larger device for increased usability, the Pixel Fold matches the description to the T.
The HONOR Magic V2 is the ideal pick for users hoping to get their hands on the cutting edge of mobile technology as it boasts advancements and hardware that we’re yet to see in the North American foldable market
