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

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

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.
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  • 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.
Patrick Holland
A hand holding a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 above the contents of its box

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with some nice design enhancements, but that's about it.

Patrick Holland/CNET

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.

Watch this: Galaxy Z Fold 5 Unboxing and First Impressions

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
  • Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 Flexes Its Foldable Beauty

    See all photos