The new Samsung Galaxy ZFlip5 is definitely a head-turning phone. I battled so much with it’s novice allure that I occasionally even tried peer pressure on friends to get the first buy-in. Eventually though, I caved to the trade in and… this lead me down a rabbit hole of self-awareness to my cell phone history.
It’s been about a month of use with my new phone. Overall, I am still loving the Samsung Z Flip5. There are some performance issues that I expect to be fixed with updates. Most noticeable are the in-phone call freezes (ringing on the home screen after a call has been ended). However, even with those slight hiccups this phone has made having a cell phone fun again! And yes, it absolutely feels good to finish anything by closing the phone and hearing that crisp snap.
I am also loving a lot of Samsung’s UI/UX customisation – an absolute must for someone who likes to tinker with the aesthetic of everything on my phone. Samsung has made it easier to make icons look uniform without the need for third-party launchers and their Good Lock app makes sure that you get the most from that front screen – that I thought I’d never use! I love having the wallet, the weather, my music, and my fitness tracker all within a small tile slide away from each other. Also, you can message from the front screen but it isn’t optimal so I recommend still opening the phone to full size for that.
The battery life for gaming on the go is also pretty good. I am an avid music streamer and Pokemon Go player. I have found myself able to still rely on a full days battery, even with my higher usage. The size of the phone is also a major benefit to my tiny hands – and it feels so good to hold! Many people ask me about the middle of the screen and if I find it to distracting and my answer that is no. I weirdly enjoy running my fingers along the smooth dip in the middle of the screen, and I have found no instances where it has negatively affected my phone interactions. Also, it makes for some pretty silly reflections.
The Flip5 also has a variety of accessories to buy that will also make the look of your phone more unique. I originally purchased the clear case with colorful NFC cards to coordinate and move with the curving of the phone screen. Overall I can’t reccomend making the switch if you’re able to! It has been fun to have a phone again that is so fun!
See below the history of Sam’s cell phone trendsetting since 2007 (Hi, SAMsung! Sponsor ya girl)
Highlights
- The Venus was the first full front screen phone, and first android phone Sam owned.
- There was a string of phones with sliding keyboards Sam owned because it was her style preference (and still is to be honest) but these phone had a lot of malfunctions.
- There was a blur of choosing style over sturdiness for a few years until the Google Pixel 1, which felt so good to hold and the camera was so good that Sam thought she’d buy into Google for life.
- Moving abroad to teach English in China, she purchased a non-google phone to exist n a country where Google doesn’t. Huawei makes good products and also that phone was unfortunately stolen so Sam doesn’t have much about it except that she misses it dearly.
- The year of 2020 was when Samsung made Sam a believer. The Flip5 one month out has made Sam’s expectations on the cuteness of a cell phone even higher!
| Phone | Released | Info |
|---|---|---|
| LG VX-5200 | 2005 | Info |
| LG Venus | 2007 | Info |
| LG Voyager | 2007 | Info |
| Samsung Moment | 2009 | Info |
| Samsung GALAXY Nexus CDMA | 2011 | Info |
| Motorola DROID 4 | 2012 | Info |
| Samsung Galaxy S III | 2012 | Info |
| LG/Google Nexus 4 | 2012 | Info |
| Motorola Moto G | 2013 | Info |
| Google Pixel | 2016 | Info |
| Google Pixel 3 | 2018 | Info |
| Huawei P20 | 2018 | Info |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 | 2020 | Info |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 | 2022 | Info |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G | 2023 | Info |
