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 is no official date as of yet from Samsung, but the company does have a pretty set release schedule for its flagship models. Here’s when the previous generations arrived: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold : September 2019 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 : September 2020 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 : August 2021 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 : August 2022 As the two past generations have been released in August, we think it’s a pretty safe bet that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be revealed in August 2023 . 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/₹154,999 512GB: $2,009/£1,769/€1,919/₹164,999 1TB: $2,249/£2,019/€2,159/₹184,999 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: 256GB: $1,799/£1,599/€1,799/₹149,999 512GB: $1,899/£1,699/€1,899/₹157,999 As you can see, some prices stayed the same between models, while others crept up. 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. A good guide could be how much the Galaxy S23 series increases in price relative to its predecessors, which we’ll find out when it launches on 1 February. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry What about new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 specs and features? It’s still quite a while before the new Fold is due to arrive, but we have started to see a few rumours emerging about what Samsung plans to introduce in the update. The main leaks so far have come from the Korean tech site The Elec , which reported that, as with the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 , the new Fold 5 will come with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which launched late last year. The article also states that Samsung is sticking with the triple camera array in the Fold 5, which will be comprised of a 50Mp main sensor (the Samsung ISOCELL GN3), presumably flanked by a 12Mp ultrawide and 10Mp telephoto as found in the Fold 4. The Elec does 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. We’ve heard contrasting news from Vietnamese site The Pixel , which reports both that the Fold 5 will have a new Snapdragon chip – presumably the as-yet unannounced 8+ Gen 2 – but that it will have a camera overhaul too. The site expects a jump to a 108Mp main camera with OIS at aperture f/1.7, joined by a 64Mp 2x zoom camera and a 12Mp ultrawide. That would mean a significant resolution jump for both the main camera and the telephoto, though admittedly a drop from 3x zoom to 2x on the latter – though with Samsung’s digital zoom expertise it could easily make up the difference there in post-processing. Still, we have our suspicions about The Pixel’s report. For one, the site doesn’t have a track record to match other leakers, and doesn’t specify its source here. But we also doubt the report a little because some of its details seem clearly off – the site suggests Samsung will be returning to the taller, thinner unfolded dimensions of the Z Fold 3, which would feel like a step backwards from the well-received proportions of the Fold 4. We find that change hard to believe, which makes us doubt everything else in here too. Still, The Pixel also joins other sites in reporting that 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 reports 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. It might have failed though, as Korea’s ETNews now 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. Meanwhile another Korean site, Naver , has reported that Samsung is moving to a waterdrop hinge design for the Z Fold 5. 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 Otherwise the Fold 5 could share many of the same specs as the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which included a 6.2-inch AMOLED cover display, with the internal folding one being a 7.6-inch AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. There were also stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.2, 5G, a 4400mAh battery that supports 25W charging, as well as an IPX8 waterproof rating. 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 and best phones coming in 2023 roundups. Smartphones
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