Livestreamed test answers the question "How many times can the Galaxy Z Flip 5 be folded?"

We all want to know the answers to certain questions. Like the animated kid who approaches the animated wise old owl in a television commercial asking "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" many would like to know how many folds can our foldable phone survive before breaking. Per The Verge, YouTuber Mrkeybrd has been livestreaming some boring yet ultimately interesting content involving the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Motorola Razr+.

From August 2nd until yesterday, the livestream showed the Galaxy Z Flip 5 being folded and unfolded by testers. At first, the Motorola Razr+ had joined the Samsung clamshell but after being constantly folded and unfolded, the Razr+ screen broke after 126,266 cycles. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 blew past that number until succumbing to the testing on August 9th after 401,146 cycles.

Samsung recently released a video showing machine testing of their foldables at a constant pace. The testing performed by Mrkeybrd is not as robotic or as scientific as Sammy's since unlike the latter's testing, the pace and pressure of each fold/unfold cycle is different. Some might argue that Mrkeybrd's method of testing generates real-world results since not everyone folds their clamshell the same way every time.

That's not to say that some of the tests covered events that owners of clamshell phones will run into while using their devices. For example, the clamshells being tested were subjected to being opened and closed while getting heated up and while underwater. They also were placed in a bag of dust.

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 started to develop problems after 223,000 folds, and an issue with the phone's hinge resulted in a temporary stop to the testing as the device started to open on its own. More problems started to appear at the 400,000 mark when the phone was submerged in water and coated with eggs and flour. A little after that, a pink line was seen running along the right side of the screen and the test was officially over.

So let's say that you plan on keeping your Galaxy Z Flip 5 for three years. At 401,146 cycles, you'd be able to open and close your Flip 5 over 360 times a day or 15 times every hour of every day before the screen might be expected to fail based on Mrkeybrd's testing. Or looking at it another way, if you fold and unfold your Galaxy Z Flip 5 100 times a day, the device would be expected to last nearly 11 years.

One thing that Samsung can do to improve its foldable clamshell is to protect it from dust. Right now the Galaxy Z Flip 5 sports an IPX8 rating which means that it does not offer protection from dust. The company recently said that it is working on this and that consumers should "be patient." However, the Motorola Razr+ has an IP52 rating which means it does offer decent protection from dust, but at the expense of offering much less protection from water.

While the Galaxy Z Flip 5 can be submerged in clear water to a depth of nearly 5 feet for as long as 30 minutes, the Razr+ is protected from water spray less than 15 degrees from vertical. In other words, very light rain falling at a certain angle shouldn't affect the device. However, to be safe, if you own a Razr+ you might keep it in your pocket when it starts raining outside.

If you live in a city where the weather is an issue, you might opt for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and its stronger water protection. Just make sure that you do a solid job of sweeping up the dust in your home.