Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 teardown shows the redesigned hinge

After surviving rigorous durability tests, including a forceful bending in the opposite direction, Samsung‘s Galaxy Z Flip 5 recently went through a teardown on the desk of Zack Nelson, the man behind the popular YouTube channel JerryRigEverything. The teardown revealed that the new foldable has what it takes to be Zack’s next smartphone, which would mean an upgrade from the four-year-old Galaxy Note 10. So what is it, let’s find out.

As he did with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 teardown last month, Zack begins taking the Galaxy Z Flip 5 apart from the wrong side, i.e. from the front. The plastic bumpers around the inner folding display come off fairly easily, and so does the built-in screen protector that Samsung warns to not peel off. The YouTuber uses a knife to cut through the adhesive holding the display and ends up damaging a few pixels. The screen is still functional, though.

As expected, the inner display’s cable is attached to the motherboard on the other side. Zack wanted to reassemble the phone later, so he didn’t rip apart the cable. Instead, he flipped the phone and started digging from the back. The rear glass panel is removed first, followed by the cover display. Once those are gone, we can see the wireless charging coil and other internal components of the foldable.

After removing the charging coil and unplugging a few cables, we reached the phone’s battery. To Zack’s pleasure, Samsung has included magic pull tabs for both battery units. These tabs make removing the batteries easier, helping in more efficient recycling. Sustainability is a key factor for Zack’s smartphone purchase, and the addition of battery pull tabs means the Galaxy Z Flip 5 qualifies to become his next smartphone.

Samsung made five variants of the Galaxy Z Flip 5

One of the ribbons inside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 has five checkable boxes that mark the different regional variants of the phone. The five variants are Europe, North America, South Korea, China, and the rest of the world (Global). The unit that Zack is tearing apart is the European version.

Samsung is using a grey graphite pad under the motherboard to help with heat dissipation. As Zack notes, the company sometimes uses different materials for heat dissipation in different markets, switching between copper and graphite. Digging deeper, we can see the redesigned hinge of the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which now features gears. You can watch the full teardown video below, including a re-assembly at the end.