Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 vs Google Pixel Fold: What’s the best big foldable?
For years, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold line has been the king of big foldable phones. But that was due in large part to a lack of competition. With the arrival of the Pixel Fold, Samsung’s crown is in jeopardy. The question is, has the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 done enough to fend off Google’s initial salvo?
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Video Transcript
SAM RUTHERFORD: This week, Samsung's latest high-end foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, goes on sale. And after using it for about a week and a half, even though I like it, I'm also kind of underwhelmed. That's not because it's a bad phone. Far from it. But because the number of important upgrades boils down to just three or four relatively minor upgrades, and one slightly larger change. But now, with the Pixel Fold giving Samsung its first real challenge in the race for big, fancy, foldable phone dominance, it only makes sense that we put these two head to head.
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Now before we start comparing these phones in earnest, I do want to highlight what's new on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. First, there is a brighter main display that can hit a peak of 1,750 nits. That's the same as the Galaxy S23 Ultra. So it's nice to see some parity between Samsung's high-end foldable and its most expensive traditional handset.
Next, there's also a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip that delivers improved performance. For multitasking, Samsung also added a few new gestures, including a two-finger swipe in to quickly launch side-by-side mode, along with a new diagonal swipe from the corner when you want to switch from full screen to a windowed app.
And while it's taskbar looks the same, it can now display up to four recent apps instead of two. More importantly, the Fold features Samsung's new flex hinge, which has impacted the phone's design in a few different ways. The biggest change is that there's no more gap between the sides of the screen when closed.
Not only does this look better, it also means there's less of a chance dust or other detritus will get inside. By eliminating the gap, the Z Fold 5 is thinner now too, measuring 13.4 millimeters compared to 15.8% at its thickest for the old Z Fold 4. That's not a ton of savings, but on a phone that's already pretty bulky, anyway to shave a millimeter off here or there is definitely appreciated.
On top of that, because the crease now forms more of a waterdrop shape, there's less pressure on the screen, which should be good for overall durability. Samsung even says it should help keep the phone's factory-installed screen protector attached. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but considering the issues I have had with bubbling on previous Galaxy Z Folds, it deserves mentioning. And that's about it.
Other components like the 6.2 inch cover screen, the rear camera module, the battery, Wi-Fi, charging speeds, both wired and wireless, are basically the same. So now that we got that out of the way, let's see how the Z Fold 5 really stacks up against the Pixel Fold.
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When you put them side by side, both Samsung and Google's phones share the same general template with a smaller exterior screen that opens to reveal a larger flexible main display. The difference is their aspect ratio and orientation. The Z Fold 5's skinnier and more baton-like design features a tall 23 by 9 6.2 inch cover screen compared to the Pixel Fold's 5.8 inch outside display with a 17.4 by 9 aspect ratio.
The Pixel is slimmer too, measuring just 12.1 millimeters thick. The interesting thing, though, is that while the Z Fold's cover screen seems bigger on paper, the Fold's wider front panel is actually the more usable of the two. Apps look and function just more normally on the Pixel. And it's easier to type on too. The Z Fold 5's more limited dimensions means I often use it strictly for quick and simple tasks like checking notifications, looking up directions, or skipping a song.
For everything else, I end up opening up the phone so I have more screen to work with. The phone's differing designs also change how you use their main displays. Because the Z Fold 5 features a portrait orientation by default, I found that it's better suited for scrolling through social media, news, what have you.
That also makes it a better e-reader especially for comics. And depending on what types of games you play, the Z Fold 5 might be a better choice too. This thing is hands down the best device for playing "Marvel Snap". Meanwhile, on the Pixel, some of my favorite games like "Teamfight Tactics" just don't even run right because of the landscape orientation.
That said, because of its wider design, the Pixel Fold is definitely the better video-watching device. That's because when I want to watch stuff on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, I have to open it and then do one of these turn and twist situations just to get the most out of wide screen content. That said, the Pixel Fold's wider main screen often meant that I needed to use two hands, or position my thumb down by the bottom of the crease. Almost like it's a 21st century version of a high tech book.
The Pixel Fold also has bigger bezels, which theoretically means you have more space for your fingers. But I've never really had an issue maintaining a tight grip on either device. I also have to say, on top of being a touch brighter, colors from the Z Fold 5 screen just pop a bit more. Don't get me wrong. Both screens look good. But as the longtime maker of the best mobile displays on the planet, Samsung definitely has an advantage here.
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The Z Fold 5 has an edge in traditional performance too thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. In Geekbench 6, it posted a much higher multi-core score of 53,062 compared to 38,095 from the Pixel Fold's tensor G2 chip. That said, neither phone are anything close to slow. But if you're a big gamer or you do a lot of mobile video editing, the Z Fold is probably the better choice.
However, what the Pixel Fold lacks in raw speed, it makes up for with better AI performance, which unlocks helpful features like improved language recognition in the Pixel Recorder app along with all of Google's incredibly useful exclusive software like Call Screener, Hold For Me, and more.
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Of course, there's more to performance than just clock speeds and benchmarks because one of the best things about big foldables is enhanced productivity. Though on these phones, Google and Samsung approach that in slightly different ways. On the Z Fold, you get a more desktop-like approach with a taskbar that lives along the bottom edge. Samsung has also a dizzying amount of gestures for multitasking, creating and launching app pairs, repositioning windows, and more.
And don't forget about DEX mode and support for stylus input, both of which the Pixel doesn't really have. On the flip side, Google's take is much more streamlined. Just to see the taskbar, you need to perform a short swipe up from the bottom, which then disappears as soon as you're done with it. And while you have basic multitasking features like being able to resize windows, dragging and dropping files, and viewing two apps at the same time, that's about it.
The Pixel Fold's strength is that because of its orientation, it's better at taking advantage of apps like Gmail that need to be in landscape mode to use their big screen optimized dual pane layouts.
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Now, moving on to photography, the Z Fold 5 has the same 50 megapixel main camera, 12 megapixel ultra wide cam, and 10 megapixel telephoto cam with 3x optical zoom that we got on last year's phone. Now, Samsung claims there are some new processing enhancements thanks to the Z Fold's new chip. But in my testing, it's pretty hard to see those differences. It's not a bad package, but it's not really advancing the phone's picture-taking capabilities either.
The issue is that when compared to the Pixel Fold, I'm not sure Samsung can really afford to stick with the same camera hardware two years in a row. That's because on top of having a longer 5x optical zoom lens, the Pixel Fold has better image processing too, especially in low light thanks to Google's Night Sight mode.
In pretty much every situation, the Pixel edges out the Z Fold 5 with sharper details, wider dynamic range, and more accurate colors. So if you want the foldable that takes the best pics, the Pixel Fold is it.
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Finally, when it comes to battery life, despite the Pixel Fold having the larger 4,800 milliamp hour cell versus just 4,400 milliamp hours for the Z Fold 5, it delivered shorter times on our video rundown test. The Pixel Fold lasted 15 hours and 22 minutes with its main screen and 22, 21 using its exterior display.
Meanwhile, the Samsung lasted longer regardless of which display it was using with a time of 19:48 for its main panel, and just shy of a full day, 23 hours and 10 minutes, for its cover screen. Though for other features like wired and wireless charging, things are very similar. The Pixel Fold is a tiny bit faster at 30 watts when plugged in compared to 25 watts for the Z Fold 5, with both phones topping out at 15 watts when tossed on a wireless charging pad.
OK, let's sum things up. The new Z Fold 5 has a better screen, faster performance, and longer battery life. But the Pixel Fold offers a more usable exterior display, a slimmer design, better cameras, and more thoughtful software, which means it's not a clear win for either phone. That means instead of having a single champion for the entire category, now we're looking at a top tier with Google and Samsung sharing the spotlight.
But it's clear Google has been learning from its competition and has come out of the gate with a very interesting twist on big foldable phones. If you're a power user who really wants to maximize mobile productivity, I'd argue the Z Fold 5 remains the better choice due to style support and a wider range of multitasking features.
Alternatively, the Pixel Fold's slimmer design and landscape orientation makes it great at kicking back and enjoying a show, while its cameras give you the best options for creating your own content. The real downside is that with both the Z Fold 5 and the Pixel Fold priced at around $1,800, you have to shell out a buttload of money just to buy one.
So which one do you prefer? Let me know in the comments down below. And if you're looking for more about the durability of Samsung's foldable phones, I just published a report on engadget.com about what it's been like using my personal Z Fold 4 for over a year without a case. And if you're looking for more info on Samsung's smaller foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip 5, stay tuned to Engadget for more news, reviews, and hands ons.
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