The Galaxy Z Fold 5 Comes With a Bunch of Improvements, but Not Much Else – CNET [CNET]

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What’s in the box of Samsung’s new $1,800 Z Fold? Not much.

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Patrick Holland Managing Editor

Patrick Holland has been a phone reviewer for CNET since 2016. He is a former theater director who occasionally makes short films. Patrick has an eye for photography and a passion for everything mobile. He is a colorful raconteur who will guide you through the ever-changing, fast-paced world of phones, especially the iPhone and iOS. He used to co-host CNET’s I’m So Obsessed podcast and interviewed guests like Jeff Goldblum, Alfre Woodard, Stephen Merchant, Sam Jay, Edgar Wright and Roy Wood Jr.

Expertise Apple, iPhone, iOS, Android, Samsung, Sony, Google, Motorola, interviews, coffee equipment, cats Credentials

  • Patrick’s play The Cowboy is included in the Best American Short Plays 2011-12 anthology. He co-wrote and starred in the short film Baden Krunk that won the Best Wisconsin Short Film award at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival.

When Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 5 at its Galaxy Unpacked event, it highlighted a handful of changes to the phone’s design. The Z Fold 5 has a new hinge that lets the phone close completely shut; Samsung calls it the Flex Hinge and claims it helps make the foldable phone more durable. Another improvement is Z Fold 5’s folding screen, which is brighter than the one on last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 4. However, there is one obvious aspect to the new Z Fold that remains relatively unchanged, and that’s what comes in the box.

The Z Fold 5’s thin square box is nearly identical to the ones for the Z Fold 3 and Z Fold 4. The top of the Z Fold 5’s box is adorned with a colored mini graphic of the phone. I’m testing a cream colored Z Fold 5 for CNET, and the box’s graphic is similarly cream colored. Previous Z Fold boxes were plastered in two-tone black and and dark gray squares like a ’90s ska album.

And if you’re expecting the $1,800 Z Fold 5 to come with an S Pen or a case, you’re going to be disappointed. The truth is that the brand-new foldable comes with exactly the same things that the Z Fold 3 and Z Fold 4 did, which isn’t much.

This is what’s included in the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s box:

  • A Galaxy Z Fold 5
  • A USB-C cable
  • A printed setup guide and instructions
  • A SIM card tool

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