Samsung unveiled the latest version of its folding smartphones last August with the debut of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. The Korean giant isn’t standing still though, as rumours are already starting to surface about what we should expect in its successor, the Z Fold 5.
Here’s everything we know so far about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5.
When will the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 be released?
There’s no official launch date as of yet from Samsung, but there’s increasing evidence that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will launch in late July.
SamMobile, The Elec, and Tech_Reve have all reported that Samsung is considering a July launch for the foldables, and more recently both Korean site Chosun and leaker Max Jambor have gotten more specific, putting their bets down on an Unpacked event in Seoul on 26 July.
That’s a little earlier than expected – apparently at least partly in response to Google’s recent launch of its Pixel Fold rival – but roughly in line with Samsung’s late summer schedule for its foldables. Here’s when the previous generations arrived:
Similarly to last year’s event, we’re expecting to see the Z Fold 5 unveiled alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Watch 6, and Galaxy Tab S9.
How much will the Galaxy Z Fold 5 cost?
Folding phones still remain in the upper tier of premium devices, so when Samsung does update the Fold catalogue you can be sure it won’t be cheap. As a guide to kind of prices you’ll be looking at, here’s how the previous couple of generations lined up:
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4:
- 256GB: $1,799/£1,649/€1,799
- 512GB: $2,009/£1,769/€1,919
- 1TB: $2,249/£2,019/€2,159
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3:
- 256GB: $1,799/£1,599/€1,799
- 512GB: $1,899/£1,699/€1,899
As you can see, prices stayed similar between models, but mostly crept up a little. With the ongoing inflation across the globe, it seems unlikely that you’ll see much of a reduction in cost when the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 arrives, and if anything prices could rise slightly further.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
What about new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs and features?
It’s still a little while before the new Fold is due to arrive, but we’ve seen a few rumours emerging about what Samsung plans to introduce in the update.
First up, we think we know what it’ll look like, and there’s not a whole lot of change here. The usually reliable OnLeaks has shared renders of the phone with the site SmartPrix, and they show a design that’s a close match for previous generations:
The camera island looks to protrude from the phone a little more, and the flash has been moved from the bottom to the side, but otherwise the general design is pretty similar.
We can see a similar shape in our first look at a possible protective case for the phone, shared by Ice Universe:
Meanwhile, display industry expert Ross Young has chimed in on the phone’s colours, claiming it will launch in Beige, Black and Light Blue – though notes that these are unlikely to be the official names, and that they should launch alongside additional colours intended to ship in lower volumes, likely exclusive to the Samsung store.
Ice has also claimed that the Z Fold 5 will once again feature IPX8 water-resistance – the same rating as the Fold 4. That means a high level of waterproofing, but no official protection from dust.
One big design question is whether this might be the year that we finally see Samsung incorporate the S Pen stylus inside the phone with a dedicated slot. The company reportedly tried and failed to work this into the Z Fold 4’s design, and The Elec reported that in a meeting with component suppliers Samsung said that a dedicated S Pen slot is one of the features needed to take its foldables to the next level of popularity – alongside thinner and lighter designs, and improved camera performance.
This doesn’t appear to be the year for the change though. There’s no sign of an S Pen slot in OnLeaks’ renders, and Korea’s ETNews reports that the S Pen won’t slot into the phone. Samsung R&D was working on it, but ultimately space constraints apparently won out, so you’ll still have to hold onto your S Pen yourself.
That’s perhaps because Samsung prioritised keeping the phone slim. OnLeaks says the phone will measure 154.9 x 129.9 x 6.3mm when unfolded, and 154.9 x 67.1 x 13.5mm when closed – dimensions which rival leaker Ice Universe agrees with almost exactly, though he has the phone just a fraction thinner at 6.1mm unfolded and 13.4mm folded. Ice also adds that it will be lighter than last year’s phone at 254g.
Either way that makes the phone about the same overall size as the Z Fold 4 but definitely thinner when closed, backing up claims from both Korean site Naver and Ice Universe that Samsung is moving to a waterdrop-style hinge that will finally allow the foldable to close fully shut.
This is the tech now widely used by rivals which bends the display into a curved droplet shape as it folds, which has two impacts: it allows displays to fully close when folded, with no gap between; and it reduces the size of the crease when the screen is flat. This has been the Z Fold’s main gap with rivals in the last year or two, so this move would help Samsung prove it’s still got the lead in foldables.
Leaker yeux1122 has claimed that Samsung brought a prototype foldable with a waterdrop hinge to CES 2023, and shared this shot of the prototype (right) compared to an existing Z Fold 4. This shouldn’t be taken as a definitive clue to the design of the Z Fold 5, but does suggest that if Samsung does adopt this updated hinge it could help it produce a thinner and lighter foldable, in addition to the benefits to the display.
Naver
Speaking of the displays, with the phone overall a similar size, the screens are also tipped by Ice Universe to stay at the same 6.2in and 7.6in sizes as before.
In a large list of leaked specs, TheGalox_ reports that the displays will be 120Hz AMOLEDs – as expected – but adds that they’ll be brighter than before, and that the outer display will use Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protective coating.
Most leakers, including The Elec and TheGalox_, so far report that the phone will ship using the same customised version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset found in the Galaxy S23 line – meaning it won’t use the upgraded 8+ Gen 2, unlike last year’s use of the 8+ Gen 1. We’ve already seen what’s apparently a Z Fold 5 pop up on Geekbench using the 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy, so it seems pretty likely at this point.
Similarly, SamMobile reports that the phone will feature the exact same 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage options as last year’s model, and TheGalox_ expects it to ship with 12GB RAM by default – again, no change.
The phone is also expected to stick with a triple rear camera array in the Fold 5, which according to Yogesh Brar will be comprised of a 50Mp main sensor (the Samsung ISOCELL GN3), flanked by a 12Mp ultrawide and 10Mp telephoto. Those are the same specs as the Fold 4, though it’s possible Samsung has some subtler tweaks in store.
The Elec does at least state that the selfie camera will feature a 12Mp sensor, which will be a slight increase from the 10Mp one currently on the Fold 4.
Finally, battery and charging. We haven’t actually heard anything yet about the battery capacity of the Fold 5, but its listing on China’s 3C certification site seems to reveal that it’s sticking with the fairly slow 25W charging speeds used so far. As before, a charger won’t ship with the phone.
Obviously, we’ll continue to update this article as more information becomes available, so be sure to check back regularly. In the meantime, you can see what the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be up against by looking at our best smartphones, best foldable phones, and best phones coming in 2023 roundups.
