Technologies

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Hands-On: Bigger Display, More Personal Customizations

Samsung’s new flip phone gets a bigger cover screen and a redesigned hinge, improving on its biggest shortcomings.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Flip 5 gains a significantly larger cover screen, an upgraded hinge and a new processor that should improve performance and photography, addressing some of the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s biggest shortcomings. It launches on Aug. 11 starting at $1,000 (£1,049, AU$1,649), showing that consumers still have to pay a high price to get their hands on phones that fold in half.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s biggest upgrade is its new cover display, which I found compelling during my brief time using the device. With this upgrade, the external display actually feels functional and useful rather than just cosmetic, helping Samsung’s flip phone catch up to those made by Motorola and Chinese tech giant Oppo.

Samsung introduced the new flip phone at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul on Wednesday, alongside a bevy of other products such as the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Watch 6 series and Galaxy Tab S9 family. The launch underscores Samsung’s bet that foldable designs are the future of high-end smartphones, especially as a differentiator to Apple just ahead of iPhone launch season.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s cover display, which Samsung now calls the Flex Window, measures 3.4 inches compared to the Z Flip 4’s 1.9-inch external display. That makes it just slightly smaller than the 3.6-inch front screen on the Motorola Razr Plus.

Most people will still use the Z Flip 5’s 6.7-inch internal screen for tasks like reading the news, playing games and browsing social media. But the bigger cover display could make the Z Flip more useful in other ways. When I reviewed the Razr Plus, for example, I was enamored with the phone’s spacious cover screen. I loved propping it open like a tent while playing music, and even typing to quickly respond to a text message.

Samsung is attempting to provide a similar experience with the Z Flip 5. During my brief time with it, I scrolled through Google Maps, typed in the messages app and even watched the Barbie movie trailer on YouTube without opening the phone. You can’t do any of that on the Z Flip 4’s cover screen. Although you can on the Razr Plus.

But you won’t be able to use every app on the front display. For the most part, Samsung limits cover screen apps to ones it believes have a good reason to be there, like Google Maps, YouTube and WhatsApp. Samsung wants to focus on use cases that make sense for the cover screen, like quickly checking directions or replying to a text, which is why only about 10 apps will be available on the Flex Window at launch. That differs from the Razr Plus, which can run just about any app (including TikTok) on the front screen.

If you want to try other apps on the cover screen you can install Good Lock, an app for Samsung devices that lets people customize their phones’ interface.

Cover screen apps seamlessly transition to the 6.7-inch internal display when you open the phone. But this doesn’t work the other way around, as it does on the Motorola Razr.

The cover screen feels like it was primarily designed to run widgets more than full apps. These widgets are the first thing you see when turning on the cover screen, and they provide a larger view of the weather, your calendar, alarms, connected device controls and other tidbits of information compared to the Z Flip 4’s minuscule screen. You can remove or reorder these widgets, either on the cover screen or in the phone’s settings menu.

The Z Flip 5 also has a new hinge, which Samsung calls the Flex Hinge. This enables the device to fold completely closed, like the Razr Plus, without the wedge-shaped gap found on previous Galaxy Z Flip and Fold devices.

This not only makes the phone feel more compact, but it should improve durability, according to Samsung. The new hinge has fewer moving parts compared to the previous version, which should make it less susceptible to damage. Both of Samsung’s new foldables have an IPX8 water resistance rating, which should allow them to withstand submersion in 1.5 meters (roughly five feet) of water for up to 30 minutes. That’s the same durability rating as last year’s devices.

The cover screen and hinge are the Galaxy Z Flip 5’s biggest upgrades. Otherwise, the phone gets a routine processor upgrade to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. It’s the same chip that powers the Galaxy S23 lineup, which helped improve the battery life and image processing. I’m looking forward to seeing whether that holds true for the Galaxy Z Flip 5. Samsung is leaning on this chip to shoulder the burden of extending the Z Flip 5’s battery life since it has the same 3,700-mAh battery capacity as the Z Flip 4. The base storage is also increasing from 128GB to 256GB on the Z Flip 5 compared to the Z Flip 4, a change that Samsung also made to the Galaxy S23 Plus earlier this year.

Cameras have always been an important part of the Galaxy Z Flip series, but the Z Flip 5 has similar camera hardware compared to last year’s model. That includes a 12-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 10-megapixel selfie camera. The difference this year is that the cameras have a new lens coating that should reduce lens flare. Hopefully this, combined with the new processor, will improve the Galaxy Z Flip’s cameras from what my colleague Patrick Holland called «B-grade cameras» in his review last year. And of course, the Z Flip 5’s enlarged cover screen also means you’ll have a roomier viewfinder for taking selfies when the phone is closed.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s software experience is largely the same as that of the Z Flip 4, but Samsung added more integrations with its new Galaxy Watch 6. For example, when the camera app is open and you fold the Flip 5 halfway to put it in Flex Mode and you’ll see the icon for the camera controller app pop up on your Galaxy Watch 6’s watch face. This lets you see a preview of what you’re shooting and change angles from your wrist. The app itself isn’t new, but the watch’s ability to surface it when it detects that you’re taking a photo in Flex Mode is.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 feels like Samsung’s attempt to address the previous generation’s biggest compromises: A cover screen that felt too tiny to be useful, a relatively short battery life and a hinge that didn’t fold as flat as some competitors. Whether I’ll recommend this phone depends on how well Samsung executes on that goal.

But most importantly, I hope the cover screen gives the Z Flip 5 a clearer purpose. Having a phone with a built-in tripod that can fit in your pocket more easily is helpful, but it’s not enough to convince most people to switch to a $1,000 flip phone for. The Razr Plus’ larger external display proved that flip phones can be about more than just portability. With the Z Flip 5, I’ll be expecting Samsung to push that idea further.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 specs vs. Motorola Razr Plus, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, Motorola Razr 2023

	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5	Motorola Razr Plus	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 5G	Motorola Razr 2023
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate, brightness	Cover: 3.4-inch AMOLED (728 x 720 pixels); internal: 6.7-inch AMOLED (2,640 x 1,080 pixels), 1-120Hz	Cover: 3.6-inch OLED (1,066 x 1,056 pixels); internal: 6.9-inch (2,640 pixels x 1,080)	Cover: 1.9-inch AMOLED (512 x 260 pixels); internal: 6.7-inch (2,640 x 1,080 pixels)	Cover: 1.5-inch, OLED (194 x 368 pixels); internal: 6.9-inch (2,640 pixels x 1,080)
Pixel density	Cover: 306 ppi, Internal: 425 ppi	Cover: 413 ppi, internal: 413ppi	Cover: 302 ppi, internal: 425 ppi	Cover: 282 ppi, internal: 413 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	Open: 6.5 x 2.83 x 0.27 in; closed: 3.35 x 2.83 x 0.59 in	Open: 2.91 x 6.73 x 0.28 in; closed: 2.91 x 3.48 x 0.59 in	Open: 2.83 x 3.3 x 0.67 in; closed: 2.83 x 6.5 x 0.27 in; hinge: 0.59 in (sagging)	Open: 2.91 x 6.73 x 0.29 in; closed: 2.91 x 3.47 x 0.62 in
Dimensions (millimeters)	Open: 71.88 x 165.1 x 6.89 mm; closed: 71.88 x 85.09 x 14.99 mm	Open: 73.95 x 170.83 x 6.99 mm; closed: 73.95 x 88.42 x 15.1 mm	Open: 71.9 x 165.2 x 6.9 mm; closed: 71.9 x 84.9 x 17.1 mm; hinge: 15.9 mm (sagging);	Open: 73.95 x 170.82 x 7.35 mm; closed: 73.95 x 88.24 x 15.8 mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	187 g (6.6 oz)	189 g (6.64 oz)	187 g (6.59 oz)	189 g (6.65 oz)
Mobile software	Android 13	Android 13	Android 12/13	Android 13
Camera	12-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	12-megapixel (main), 13-megapixel (ultrawide)	12-megapixel (main), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	64-megapixel (main), 13-megapixel (ultrawide)
Front-facing camera	10-megapixel	32-megapixel	10-megapixel	32-megapixel
Video capture	TBD	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1	Snapdragon 7 Gen 1
RAM/storage	8GB + 256GB/512GB	8GB + 256GB	8GB+ 128GB/256GB/512GB	8GB + 128GB
Expandable storage	None	None	None	None
Battery	3,700 mAh (dual-battery)	3,800 mAh	3,700 mAh	4,200 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Side	Side	Side	Side
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None	None
Special features	5G-enabled, IPX8 water resistance, 25W wired charging, wireless charging, wireless power share, dual SIM	IP52, 5G-enabled, foldable display, 30W wired charging, wireless charging	IPX8, 5G enabled, foldable display, wireless charging, 25W fast charging	IP52, 5G-enabled, foldable display, 30W wired charging, 5W wireless charging
US price off-contract	$1,000	$1,000	$999	TBA
UK price	£1,049	Converts to £780	£999	TBA
Australia price	AU$1,649	Converts to AU$1,475	AU$1,499	TBA

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Aug. 21, #332

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 21, No. 332.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

To solve today’s Connections: Sports Edition, focus on the endings of some of the words. That should help you see how they connect. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta after making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: What you want to do.

Green group hint: Football abbreviations.

Blue group hint: Home to hoops.

Purple group hint: Hidden hockey team names.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Objective.

Green group: NFL teams, on scoreboards.

Blue group: NBA arenas ending with «Center.»

Purple group: Ends with an NHL team.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is objective. The four answers are aim, goal, mark and target.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL teams, on scoreboards. The four answers are CHI, MIA, MIN and NO. (Chicago, Miami, Minnesota and New Orleans.)

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA arenas ending with «Center.» The four answers are Barclays, Chase, Delta and Kia.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with an NHL team. The four answers are geoducks, spoilers, superstars and Vikings. (Ducks, Oilers, Stars and Kings.)

Technologies

Made by Google 2025: Everything Announced — Pixel 10, Pixel Watch 4, Pixel 10 Pro Fold

At a star-studded event hosted by late-night host Jimmy Fallon, Google announced new phones, watches, earbuds and Android features.

Even though the Pixel 10 leaks and rumors felt as if they arrived in a steady firehose before today’s Made by Google event — compelling the company to release a teaser video pre-announcing the new phone’s existence a month ago — Google still delivered details it somehow managed to keep private until it was ready to share.

And that delivery was refreshingly fun for a tech event. The Tonight Show host Jimmy Kimmel led the proceedings in a very late-night talk show format, bringing on several special guests from media, sports and yes, Google’s own experts to show off the products and features they’ve been working on for today’s announcements.

Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL are real

Surprise, Google announced new phones! OK, this was the least surprising part of the event, but it still feels good to finally know what exists and when it’s coming. Preorders for the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL begin today and will be in stores and shipping starting August 28.

I’m Stoked That Google Made the Pixel 10 a $799 Value-Packed Feature Monster
I Tested Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris, and I’m Impressed
Pixel 10 Pro and Pro XL First Look: Familiar Design, New AI Tricks
Google Launches the Full Pixel 10 Line, Including the Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL

Pixel 10 Pro Fold opens the next chapter of foldables

Folding phones so far have shared an Achilles Hinge: small particulates like sand can get inside the case and really mess things up. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is one of the first to have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning you can take it to the beach.

Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Tougher, Smarter and Totally Dust Resistant
Forget the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Foldables Should Look Like the Microsoft Surface Duo
Google’ Pixel 10 Pro Fold Is Here

Pixel Watch 4 talks to Gemini and is your new health coach

The Pixel Watch 4 includes new fitness options like real-time guidance while exercising. And if you forgot to start a workout, the watch (with AI help) can detect the activity in the background and remind you of it later, giving you credit for the effort you made. It’s also the only smartwatch that can detect a loss of pulse and call emergency services automatically.

Well Played, Google: The Pixel Watch 4 May Give Apple Watch Loyalists a Wandering Eye
Pixel Watch 4 First Look: Google Just Raised the Bar
The Pixel Watch 4 Is Here. Can It Finally Beat Apple?

Pixel Buds 2a are more affordable earbuds

Joining the Pixel Buds 2 Pro in the market are Pixel Buds 2a, an affordable ($130) pair of wireless earbuds that feature active noise cancellation, a smaller and lighter for all, and a twist-to-adjust stabilizer feature for setting a comfortable fit.

Google’s New Pixel Buds 2A Look a Lot Like the Pro 2, but Cost Way Less
Meet the Pixel Buds 2A: Google’s Budget Answer for ANC Buds

Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will see new features

Coming in a software update next month, Pixel Buds Pro 2 owners will be able to answer calls or send them to voicemail with a nod or shake of the head. You’ll be able to talk to Gemini live in noisy locations, and benefit from adaptive audio that applies noise cancellation while letting important sounds come through. At the other end, a new feature will protect your hearing from very loud sounds.

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Review: A Worthy Upgrade With One Caveat

Magic Cue is a Gemini assistant that pulls data from your correspondence

In the rollout of all the various AI technologies in the industry, the current stretch goal is «agentic» interactions with software: Having an AI that knows all sorts of details about you and can act to get the important stuff in front of you when needed. (And do it in a privacy-first way, one would hope.)

Magic Cue is Google’s implementation. It’s a new Gemini-based feature that can look through your earlier messages, emails and photos to pull details about things like restaurant reservations and flight times. Magic Cue runs on the Pixel device itself, so sensitive data stays private and not shared to the cloud.

A lot of Gemini AI intelligence is still coming soon

At the start of the event, Kimmell sat down in typical talk-show format with Rick Osterloh, senior vice president of platforms and devices, to chat about Gemini and the marvels of AI. Aside from Magic Cue, which will be shipping on the Pixel 10 phones, a lot of the features we’ve been hearing about are still on the horizon.

«For instance, Gemini could do something like plan a team celebration dinner for 12 people tonight,» he said. «It might go find a restaurant that’ll accommodate that group…. Look for a karoake place nearby and maybe even order custom T-shirts for the celebration.»

And when will that be possible? Kimmell asked. «A lot sooner than people think,» Osterloh replied. «This kind of thing is coming this year.»

The Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL can zoom to 100x with AI help

Pro Res Zoom on the Pixel 10 Pro phones pushes zooming far beyond what would seem to be possible with typical small cameras. Usually when you zoom beyond the optical limits of the cameras, details get fuzzy as the software upscales the image. With Pro Res Zoom, when you go beyond 30x zoom, it uses generative AI to build a sharper version. CNET’s Andrew Lanxon got both impressive and head-scratching results while making photos in Paris using the Pixel 10 Pro XL.

I Took Hundreds of Photos With the Pixel 10 Pro XL in Paris. These Are My Favs

Camera Coach uses AI to encourage better photos

Smartphone cameras have employed AI for several years, such as identifying subjects in order to blur the background for Portrait modes or quickly snapping several shots at multiple exposures and blending them together to create well-balanced lighting throughout. Now Google is using AI to help you take better photos.

Camera Coach is a new feature in the Pixel Camera app that looks at the scene in front of the lens and generates multiple suggestions for how to improve the photo before it’s captured. To show this off, podcaster Alex Cooper brought Fallon out to be her model and sat him down on a couch. When she activated the feature, Camera Coach suggested that she move the camera closer to the subject, position his head in the upper portion of the frame, lower the camera to eye level and turn on Portrait mode.

«To all the girls that are watching, I personally know how hard it is to train your boyfriend or your husband to get that perfect shot,» said Cooper. «And now Camera Coach can just train all the boys for us.»

Pixel 10 supports Qi2 magnetic charging

The Qi2 spec includes not just faster charging but also an array of magnets on the back for connecting to accessories. Sound familiar? The presenters mentioned Apple’s MagSafe system, then paused with the realization that they probably shouldn’t have name-checked it during the Google event. On the Pixel 10 phones, it’s called Pixelsnap and should work with accessories made for Apple’s ecosystem too.

Pixel 10 will be available in Mexico

In an impressive segment demonstrating Gemini live translation during a phone call, musician Karen Polinesia, who speaks Spanish, announced that for the first time, the Pixel 10 will be available for sale in Mexico.

This article is being updated; stay tuned for more.

Technologies

Upgrading to Pixel 10? Here’s How to Prepare Your Old Pixel for Trade-In

Don’t send off your phone with a ton of personal information still on it.

Google just announced the Pixel 10 family, and several preorder offers are available right now. If you’re looking for an even better deal on these new phones, you might want to consider trading in your old Pixel for maximum savings.

The Pixel 10 family consists of the base Pixel 10 model, two Pro models and the latest Pro Fold. All of these phones feature the latest Tensor G5 Processor, Qi2 wireless charging and, of course, new AI tricks. We went hands-on with the new phones, and they made a good impression.

If you’re ready to leap into a new Pixel, you’ll want to make sure you’ve prepared your old phone properly before you send it off.

If you don’t check all the right boxes for trading in your phone, its trade-in value could be reduced. You also want to avoid sending your phone out with a ton of personal information still left on it.

Below, we’ll go over the steps to ensure a seamless trade-in experience when your new Pixel 10 arrives.

For more, we’ve wrangled all of the best Pixel 10 cases you can buy right now.

Turn off the activation lock on your Pixel phone

Before you trade in your phone, you’ll just need a factory reset to qualify for the maximum trade-in value. Some retailers want you to remove the activation lock from your phone first, which requires removing the device from your Google account before resetting it. (AT&T took off over $400 of the value because I didn’t do this to my Pixel 7 Pro when I upgraded to the 8 Pro a few years back.)

You can remove your Google account from your phone directly or via your online account.