Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

It’s a slow and steady process, but Samsung’s been at it for a while. Theirs continues to be the most fully realized foldable on the market from a hardware and software perspective. I continue to lean toward the Flip for reasons of personal preferences (ditto the Pixel Fold), but if the Fold is your cup of tea, it continues to be the one to beat.

Hands on: I’m not keen on the £100 price increase – £1,749 is an awful lot of money for a phone – but if you’re blessed with the funds and you’re a fan of the phone/tablet form factor, I doubt there will be anything better than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, at least for a little while longer.

Hands on: However, my issue with the Z Fold 5 is that while a lot of the changes are nice in a vacuum, for a company that has had such a head start in the foldable phone space, it seems like Samsung isn’t pushing that advantage as hard as it should.

Hands on: On the whole, the Fold 5 doesn’t look like it’s designed to entice current Fold owners to upgrade. Instead, Samsung seems to be shoring up its position against its newest foldable competitor: Google. The things that Samsung was already doing better — a lighter device, robust multitasking features — are improving even further.

Hands on: Samsung has made a number of small but important updates to pull the Galaxy Z Fold 5 within shooting distance of its nearest rival, the Google Pixel Fold. It's faster, thinner, lighter – and, yes, flatter.

Hands on: From a distance, the Z Fold5 and Z Fold4 are difficult to tell apart. While the design is almost identical, there are a couple of obvious differences. First, the new fold-flat hinge means you won’t find a gap between the two halves of the Z Fold5 when it’s closed. As a result, this phone looks and feels more finished than its predecessor. It’s a welcome improvement. Second, the LED flash was moved from the camera pod to the back glass.