Samsung’s Galaxy S23 lineup launched less than a month ago, but we’re already looking forward to the arrival of the next flagship entries in the Galaxy range.
Specifically, we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 – successors to two of the best foldable phones currently available – to hit shelves later this year, and more details are beginning to emerge about what to expect from both handsets.
For instance, it looks like Samsung will be sticking with what it knows when it comes to the devices’ storage options. According to SamMobile, the Fold 5 will be offered in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB variants, while you’ll have to choose between 128GB, 256GB and 512GB variants for the Flip 5.
For context, those are the same storage options Samsung opted for on the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, as well as on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Ultra – which isn’t revelatory news, given that we expect both new foldables to come packing the same bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset as featured in Samsung’s latest phones.
The only real surprise is that the 128GB variant of the Flip 5 looks set to be the only model that won’t benefit from UFS 4.0 speeds. Instead, being the cheapest option of the two foldables, the baseline Flip 5 will stick with its predecessor’s UFS 3.1 specification – but again, this makes sense when you consider that the 128GB of the vanilla Galaxy S23 also uses UFS 3.1.
What else do we know?
As for what else we’ve heard about the two new foldables, a recent report from Vietnamese tech outlet The Pixel suggests the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could swap out the 50MP rear camera utilized by its predecessor for a much more powerful 108MP rear sensor.
The same report also hints that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could feature a 64MP telephoto camera (with 2x optical zoom) and a 12MP ultrawide snapper. That setup would trump the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s 10MP telephoto sensor, but lose out on the latter’s 3x optical zoom capabilities.
We’ve also heard rumblings that Samsung is going to use a water drop-shaped hinge in the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which means the device would be able to fold completely flat, with no gaps visible between the two halves of the display.
Several handsets from Chinese manufacturers already use this design approach for their foldables, but at the cost of full water resistance. However, Samsung is apparently going to add the new hinge shape while maintaining an IPX8 rating for the phone.
Likewise, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is expected to come with a new hinge design, as well as a much bigger cover screen than the Z Flip 4 – beyond that, though, the rumor airways have been quiet.
We’re keeping tabs on both upcoming foldables in our dedicated Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 hubs, so stay tuned to TechRadar for the latest news, leaks and rumors surrounding both devices.
