Word Street Journal

In a market dominated by bar phones, clamshell foldables are gradually making space for themselves.

Samsung has been the king of foldables for some years now. However, the newcomer Oppo and resurgent Motorola have made the Korean giant pause and reflect.

The result of which is visible in its latest offering, the Galaxy Z Flip5.

I recently purchased it and the smartphone is flippin’ awesome.

There’s more style, substance, and, obviously, cover screen functionality, compared to the previous generations.

As you might know, I recently listed out the reasons why the Flip5 became my choice over the Moto Razr 40 Ultra.

After the article, I realized the need to bring to your attention Seven Awesome Features of the Galaxy Z Flip5.

Let’s get going.

Always-on Display (AoD)

Yes, most of the premium phones have it (not the Razr 40 Ultra though) but the catch here is the ‘coolness.’

The Always-on Display on the Z Flip5 looks superb. It feels like a digital table clock that you specifically buy to be on your toes.

And the compact design of this mini phone adds to the charm. I can understand the fear of losing out on the battery.

But when the screen itself is this small, battery usage is not a big issue. AoD on the Z Flip5 uses around 2-3% of your full charge.

I mostly keep it beside me while I am working on my laptop. But the best use case is when you are in a room without a wall clock, especially during the night.

You can put the phone on the side table in ‘tent mode,’ and double the smartphone as a digital clock.

For me, it works like wonder.

Limit Maximum Charge

I am not sure about other phones but the Flip lineup, I believe, has had this feature for some time now.

On the Z Flip5, you can limit the maximum charge to 85%, a point after which it would automatically cut the flow of electricity.

Sometimes, we forget to switch off the charger and it stays plugged in at 100% for hours.

Or, we remain conscious throughout the charging cycle to turn off the switch before the bar touches 90%.

It won’t happen with the Z Flip5, which allows for limiting the maximum charge percentage.

In the long run, this can help maintain battery health and elongate the backup as well.

The Cover Display aka the Flex Window

Woopsie! Don’t kill me for not putting this at number 1.

The secondary display or the cover display or the Flex Window is probably the best feature of the Z Flip5, second only to the characteristic ‘Flip.’

Out of the box, its functionality is limited. However, only sky is the limit once you set it up.

Messaging, watching Netflix, playing games, making payments, booking tickets, you name it and you can do it. Or at least, try doing it.

I don’t watch YouTube, but this is a good one to consider, as much as I stream Netflix. And surprisingly, they have optimized the app quite well.

The picture quality is clear and nothing feels shrunk. Reminds me of the old days of iPods.

There are some downsides too. Not all apps work as they should.

Samsung can hide behind the wall saying, we never made the cover screen with that intention.

On the flip side, the cover screen makes taking selfies via the rear camera absolutely smooth.

And I can guarantee that once you get a hang of rear-camera selfies, you will forget that the phone has a front camera as well.

I have only taken one or two selfies from the front cam, just to check the picture quality. That’s it. Everything else I have done has been from the rear shooter.

The Mini Games, optimized specifically for the Cover Screen, are enjoyable. You can enable them using the Good Lock app.

Also, Gmail and Calculator are two apps I think work really well on the Flex Window. So, that’s another cool little feature.

I mean when was the last time you used a calculator and said, ‘oh, that’s nice.’

I will talk more about the Flex Window in another blog when I review the phone in the long run.

Smooth Volume Buttons

This was a pleasant surprise for me. When you fold the phone, the volume buttons swap functions seamlessly.

In the brick state, the volume rockers work the usual way, with the upper button increasing volume and the lower one doing the opposite.

However, when you fold the phone, both buttons swap functions to match the dynamics of the folded form factor.

It seems like an evolved feature from the first Z Flip to the Z Flip5. Maybe, this wasn’t there initially. I am not sure.

Flex Mode

Samsung calls the Flex Mode on Z Flip5 the ‘Flex Mode Panel7.’ They have added more functionality and made it much more worthy.

But wait, what exactly is the Flex Mode? It is basically the split-screen feature with a twist.

In simple terms, it allows your Flip phone to turn into a mini laptop.

As you know, the Flip is divided into two halves. Let’s call them upper and lower halves for the sake of understanding.

So, usually, you unfold the Flip5 entirely and it looks like a normal phone.

But what’s the point of having a Flip when you don’t have other use cases than just flipping it open and close, right?

Samsung came up with the idea of the Flex Mode, which comes into action when the phone is, at least, slightly bent.

Once you enable the Flex Mode in Settings, all you have to do is open any app and bend the phone a bit.

Remember that it doesn’t automatically trigger unless you flex it a little.

What happens then is the upper half becomes the app you opened and the lower half gives you two options.

Either you can use it as a mousepad to control the app. Or, you can open another application and both halves will operate different apps (aka split screen).

https://videopress.com/v/Ud2N2nOM?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true

While the cursor functionality will leave on its own the minute you hold the phone flat, the split screen feature will remain either way.

What I do is put the phone on my study table or bed and unfold it up to 90 degrees. Then I use the mousepad feature to ensure one-handed use without any ado.

It is actually helpful, doing everything that a normal laptop mousepad could.

Use Three Apps at Once

This isn’t entirely a useful thing but do you know that the Galaxy Z Flip5 can run three apps at a time?

Yes, you can see and use three apps on the screen simultaneously. That too, without downloading a third-party application.

I have used the Mi 11 Ultra, which could take two apps at a time. But three… that’s seriously something.

The best use case can be two shopping apps to compare prices and one messaging app to continue with your chats.

It is like pushing multitasking a step ahead.

But how to use three apps at the same time on the Galaxy Z Flip5?

Well, first, you need to open two apps the way we did in the previous point.

Once done, tap on the recent apps tab and hold the app that you wish to use alongside the two already running.

Drop the app on the screen. It will open as a pop-up window and the previously running applications will vanish.

Then, again click on the recent apps tab and this time choose the split screen window, carrying the earlier apps.

Now, you will see two apps running in both halves while the third application would run as a pop-up over them.

In case you are facing any issues, please drop a comment and I will be happy to help.

Handycam Video Recording

Remember the good old days of the Handycams? When a big task of any trip used to be to keep the Handycam safe?

The Z Flip5 brings the same nostalgia with its Flex camcorder feature.

Just open the camera app, flex the phone, turn on the video, and hold the phone horizontally. Boom! You are done.

Apart from the appealing vibe, it also adds more stability to your videos since it is easier to grip half of the phone with one hand.

Final Word

There are many other amazing features in this handy Flip phone. But think of the coolest ones, and these were my choices.

Samsung has definitely made the phone more useful and stylish while maintaining the form factor.

Earlier, clamshell phones could only fold and unfold.

Now, it is about what you can do with them while they are folded.

Partly, the credit for this should go to Oppo and Motorola.

Samsung is now back on its toes after years of relaxing in its kingdom.