5 tweaks to make the most of your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

You'll thank me later.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 represents the best of what Samsung has to offer in the foldable space right now. It's among the best foldable phones out there in 2023. It is a spectacular device even with the growing competition. Samsung has also made some notable improvements to the last year's model, improving the overall experience of using the device. There's no doubt the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a fantastic phone for advanced users, but there are a few features and settings I recommend exploring to make the most of this versatile device. Here are five settings I wish someone told me before I started using the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

You may notice that some applications on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will automatically open in landscape mode, forcing you to rotate the phone. It's not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it may get to you at times, especially if you're rushing to get something done urgently. Thankfully, there is a way to force those applications to open in portrait mode while still occupying the entire screen. Here's how to do it:

One of the advantages of buying a book-style foldable phone is that you get access to a massive display, which is perfect for multitasking. Seriously, using multi-window applications is a huge part of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 experience, and I highly recommend creating app groups to make the most of it. App groups, in case you don't know, is a One UI feature that allows you to pair two or more apps that you frequently use together. It essentially creates a group of these apps and saves it as an app icon to let you open them together with just a single tap. Here's how to do it:

I like to add them to my Apps edge panel to keep the taskbar clean and reserve it for other apps. This is easily one of the best things you can do to multi-task on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. I use it all the time on this phone, and it's going to be hard for me to let go of it.

What's the point of having a bigger display if you can't use it to view more content at any given point? Well, a lot of apps and screens in One UI take advantage of the bigger display, except the Recent apps menu. It uses the traditional Recent apps view, making you scroll all the way to find your desired app. There's no way to change this view out of the box in One UI, but you can use Samsung's Good Lock app and download a module to change it to Grid view. Here's how to do it:

The Gird view allows you to see as many as six app previews on the Recent apps screen, which is much better than the original view. The Grid view also works on the outer screen, so you get to see more recent apps there as well.

If you're the type of person who prefers using navigation buttons over gesture navigation on Android, then this one is for you. Instead of placing the navigation buttons at the center of the screen, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 aligns them to the right side by default. It's perfect for right-handed users like me, but you can change its position if you prefer to have it on the left side. I highly recommend changing this if you're a left-handed user because you'll definitely find it difficult to reach them on the right side due to the bigger size of the Galaxy Z Fold 5's display. Here's how to change the orientation of the navigation buttons:

I've been using the Navigation buttons on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 over gestures lately. It's particularly easy to use the button if/when I am using the phone unfolded in one hand. Your mileage may vary, so feel free to explore and choose what works best for you. Those who prefer using the buttons over gestures must consider aligning the buttons with their dominant hands.

This is something I originally highlighted in my Galaxy Z Fold 4 camera walkthrough last year, but I believe it deserves another shoutout. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with two dedicated selfie cameras — a 10MP sensor on the outer screen and a 4MP under-display camera on the inner foldable display. There's nothing to write home about these cameras, especially the under-display sensor, but you can use the Galaxy Z Fold 5's triple-camera setup at the back for selfies. That's right, you can use the phone's 50MP primary sensor for selfies, which is better than both dedicated selfie sensors. The highlight here, however, is the fact that you can use the cover display as the viewfinder for those selfies, which is great. Here's how to use it:

That brings us to the end of this list, in which I've highlighted some settings and features to explore while getting started with your Galaxy Z Fold 5. Samsung has packed a ton of great features in this phone, and I've barely scratched the surface with these tips. I highly recommend exploring each and every setting to ensure you're not missing out on anything crucial. You'll find some of them to be more important than others, but it's important to explore them to ensure you're making the most of your expensive investment.

Samsung's latest Galaxy Z Fold 5 is a further refinement of the Z Fold lineup. The smartphone looks similar to past Z Fold iterations, featuring a 7.6-inch main screen and a tall cover screen. On the inside, it's powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a 4,400mAh battery. You can score up to $1,000 off with trade-ins at Samsung.com.

An evergreen writer at XDA Developers serving up reviews, buying guides, deals, and more on smartphones that you care about. I have over six years of experience in covering smartphones and their companion products. Before joining XDA Developers, I was a senior reviewer at Digit, a popular tech magazine in India. I have an unhealthy relationship with gaming, so you'll either find me yelling at my monitors while playing an online shooter or simply lounging with an open-world RPG in my free time.