The Galaxy Z Fold 5 went on sale in quite a few countries in the second week of August and has been hitting retail shelves in more and more countries since then. As we said in our review, Samsung's fifth horizontal foldable isn't perfect, but thanks to all the improvements that Samsung has made over the years, the Z Fold 5 is the best one yet.
One of the best improvements with Samsung's 2023 foldables is the gapless design when the devices are folded. Previous Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip handsets left a rather big gap between the two halves, but a redesigned hinge has enabled Samsung to address that issue with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
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However, if you have bought either of Samsung's new foldables, you might be wondering if the device actually folds a 100%. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 in particular looks like it still leaves a minor gap, especially near the part where the folding action happens, and that can raise the question of how safe the phone is going to be when it's sitting in your pockets.
Not 100% gapless, but still much safer than before
Well, we thought it prudent to tell you that while the design isn't a 100% gapless, it's not something to worry about. Yes, there is still a small gap near the middle of the device / near the hinge (see the part encircled in red in the image below) when it's folded, but nothing except some specks of dust and very tiny pieces of lint can actually get in there when the phone is sitting in your pocket or inside a bag where there might be other items lying around. So, again, not 100% gapless, but it's also not something to be all that concerned about.
That said, if we're being honest, it's best to make sure there is nothing other than the Fold 5 in the pocket or bag that you may put it in, gap or no gap. Since there's no glass on the foldable display (there's a fine layer of ultra thin glass, but that doesn't really count), you will want to handle it with care. That's just how it is when it comes to foldable phones, and while Samsung has made sure the new models are as safe and as strong as they can be, they are still relatively fragile compared to phones that do not fold.
