Is the Galaxy Z Fold 5 the absolute best foldable phone money can buy right now? Almost definitely. But with largely the same design and… largely the same specifications as last year’s similarly well-reviewed Galaxy Z Fold 4, it’s hard to recommend spending $1,800 (let alone more) on this flexible Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powerhouse with a 7.6-inch primary screen, a 6.2-inch cover display, and a shallow yet still very much present crease.
Of course, you can always trade in your existing mobile device to try to considerably lower that exorbitant price at your preferred carrier or directly on Samsung‘s official US website. Or you can circumvent that requirement and save a massive $400 at Best Buy with a simple upfront activation.
This obviously also qualifies as a hoop to jump through, but for a lot of potential buyers, it’s a much easier condition to meet than an eligible device trade-in because, well, everyone has to use their phone on an operator anyway. If that operator happens to be Verizon, AT&T, or Google Fi, you might as well get $400 off your order without having to commit to a specific carrier for a long time.
The discount applies to all Galaxy Z Fold 5 storage configurations, mind you, ranging from the entry-level 128 gig variant that normally costs $1,799.99 to the top-of-the-line 1TB model you usually have to cough up an insane $2,159.99 on.
By no means conventionally affordable, this tank of a foldable does become a little… friendlier to the masses with these unprecedented price cuts, turning heads and blowing minds with a design polished to near-perfection, as well as pretty much unrivaled versatility, raw power, and… decent battery life and camera performance (by ultra-high-end 2023 standards).
Can you do better than the Z Fold 5? Only if you’re able to resist the foldable trend… or willing to wait until next year’s Galaxy Z Fold 6, which may or may not bring (formal) dust resistance and improved cameras to the table.
