Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 Phone Gets a Bigger, Smartwatchlike Front Screen

As far as features, the Flip5 steals the show with its larger front cover screen (the display you see when the phone is folded). What used to be a small 1.9-inch window that could showcase a few lines of text now fills almost the entire panel. 

The 3.4-inch screen is roughly half the size of a typical phone, bigger than any smartwatch display but with the same functionality. You can customize the always-on display with a photo or video of your choice, reply to text messages with the onscreen QWERTY keyboard, make and receive phone calls, add widgets for your calendar or the weather, and view and launch all widgets with a pinch. To be clear, the smaller front cover screen on last year’s Flip4 has many of these features, but now you can see everything, well, bigger. 

New capabilities in the Flip5 could make it so you might hardly ever open your phone at all. For example, you can show your event e-ticket, boarding pass, or driver’s license with Samsung Wallet on the front screen. You can see your driving directions in Google Maps. And you can preview and take selfie photos with the wide or ultrawide camera with the phone closed.

The Flip5 has 8 gigabytes of memory and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. The battery is the same as last year: 3,700mAh. For reference, the Flip4 lasted 25.5 hours on one charge in our labs. 

In terms of design, we’re going pastel this year. The Flip5 is available in graphite, cream, lavender, and mint. If you order directly from Samsung.com, there are a few more exclusive colors to choose from: blue, gray, green, and yellow.

The Fold5 isn’t totally left behind. Compared with the Fold4, the new model sheds a few grams of weight and a couple of millimeters of thickness, and it has a brighter screen, which is helpful when using your phone in direct sunlight. 

Designed to be a sort of micro-laptop, the device adds things like pop-up windows for overlaying your screen with different apps and a new gesture for dragging and dropping between apps.

Samsung says the improved “flex” hinge reduces the appearance of the crease on the screen when the phone is unfolded.

The Fold5 has 8GB of memory, with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage. As with last year’s model, it has a 4,400mAh battery; the Fold4 lasted 33 hours on one charge in our labs. It comes in black (“Phantom Black”), cream, and light blue (“Icey Blue”). Gray and blue are exclusive colors available on Samsung.com.

Samsung is revamping its smartwatch line with the Galaxy Watch6 and Galaxy Watch6 Classic. It’s a light refresh. The biggest news might be the return of a discontinued feature. The Classic again sports the rotating bezel eliminated on last year’s Watch5, much to the consternation of many Samsung Watch fans. 

The new models—the first to run Google’s OS4 watch platform—will feature enhanced sleep tracking under the Samsung Health banner. Both have a faster processor, larger displays, and a bigger battery that enables faster charging and a claimed 30-hour battery life, which would outstrip the Apple Watch. The watches are also a bit thinner and the bands offer easier swappability. The Watch6 comes in 40- and 44-mm case sizes while the Classic offers 43- and 47-mm iterations.

Prices have increased as well. The Watch6 bumps from $280 to $300; for comparison, Apple’s entry-level Watch SE costs $250. The Classic jumps from $350 to $400, which matches the price of the Apple Watch Series 8. Google’s Pixel Watch starts at $350. The Watch6 models are available for preorder now.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, and S9 Ultra—and the S Pen stylus included with each—feature an IP68 water-resistance rating, which means they should survive a spilled drink, a rainshower, and even a shallow dunking (up to 1.5 meters deep for 30 minutes).

The AMOLED screens on the devices have a higher refresh rate—up to 120 times per second (or 120Hz) vs. the standard 60—which makes scrolled content look crisper and animations appear smoother than they would on a regular display. All three models are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. A new built-in vapor chamber will help the tablets dissipate heat during intensive gaming sessions and other demanding tasks, the company says.

The models come in two colors: graphite (black) and beige. The 11-inch Tab S9 starts at $799, 12.4-inch S9+ at $999, and 14.6-inch S9 Ultra at $1,199. All are available for preorder now.