After a very successful foldable smartphone in 2022, Samsung should normally launch its successor in 2023: the Galaxy Z Flip 5. If no information about this model has been confirmed for the moment, serious rumors have been multiplying for a few months now. . Let’s recap what we know or think we know about this upcoming premium smartphone.
As every year for three years, the South Korean manufacturer Samsung should launch its next two models of folding smartphones in 2023: a model foldfolding in book format, and a model flip, foldable in clamshell format. Two high-end phones that are always pushing technological innovation beyond these products, but it’s the second model that interests us: the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.
The Z Flip series models outsell the Z Fold series due to their compact size and lower cost. Price, release date, new design… we take stock of the rumors and assumptions about what could be the next most popular folding smartphone on the market.
The latest high performance chip
The first information about this Galaxy Z Flip 5 reached us in July 2022… that is, before the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 4! They are the South Korean media. the elect who triggered the first barrage of rumors: according to their sources, the next two models fold et flip from Samsung would be equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.
Although this rumor was aired well in advance, it would seem logical since the last two Galaxy Z Flip models integrated Qualcomm’s latest high-end chip available at launch. Based on our previous tests of this chip, we can expect improved performance and reduced heating during long gaming sessions. Good news if confirmed, as the Z Flip 4 had trouble keeping up with greedy users.
Another credible rumor: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s storage size options may remain the same as the previous generation. This was stated at the end of February by the news site sammobile, specialized in the South Korean brand. According to their source, you would again have to choose between 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB of internal memory.
sammobile It goes further by estimating that, like the Samsung Galaxy S23 launched in early February 2023, only the 128GB model would use the UFS 3.1 flash memory standard, while the 256 and 512GB variants would benefit from UFS. 4.0. A technology that, on paper, doubles the speed of reading and writing files on internal storage compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
A larger external screen than its competitors
However, most of the leaks published by the specialized media for several months mainly concern the design of the next folding smartphone from Samsung. An important point, since the exterior design of the Z Flip range has not changed much since the Galaxy Z Flip 3, launched in 2021.
Therefore, there should be changes to this Galaxy Z Flip 5, in particular for its external panel, dedicated to accessing certain functions on a smartphone even if it is folded. At the beginning of December 2022, the specialist for display production lines ross young stated that this screen would be much larger» in the next modelflip, estimating this at more than 3 inches (compared to 1.9 inches on the Z Flip 3 and 4). In response to another tweetRoss Young later clarified that the noises from the hallways evoke a slab between 3.3 and 3.4 inches.
I said 2″ on the Flip 4. I came in a bit below that at 1.9″… Hearing 3.3″-3.4″ on the Z Flip 5.
—Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) December 1, 2022
This change would not come as a surprise: a pioneer of the clamshell fold in 2019, Samsung has been sucked in by other smartphone makers on the size of this tiny screen, be it the Oppo Find N2 Flip (3.26-inch) or the Razr 2022. (2.7 inches). Therefore, Samsung could reach its level.
At the beginning of February 2023 it was also the turn of another leaker, ice universeto corroborate Ross Young’s information stating that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 would be “greater than [celui] Oppo Find N2 Flip“. Two days later, the same leaker published a draft of what the smartphone is”have a good chancelook alike, with a screen that even covers half of the exterior of the smartphone when folded.
It is very likely that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will have this design. I’m doing more research… pic.twitter.com/1bVYOgmC0H
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 22, 2023
The same week, a 3D render of the Motorola Razr 2023, its next competitor, showed off a nearly identical design to the one Ice Universe teased for the Z Flip 5. This suggests to us that Samsung would follow this external display trend to the max. big as possible.
A teardrop-shaped hinge that does not let water through
Second very competitive design point of the foldable smartphone market: the hinge design. This is the other topic of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 rumors. Also in December 2022, the aforementioned Ross Young tweet gave another indication of possible improvements for the next smartphone: Samsung would be working on a new hinge design “which should reduce the visibility of the fold” from the screen.
The technology adopted by the current folding models of the South Korean brand does leave a trace that is quite visible and sensitive to touch on the screen. Here again, your competitors have caught up with you on this point: Motorola, Oppo or Huawei offer in their products a hinge design in “water drop» that allows to greatly reduce the gap of the fold, at the same time that allows to completely close the smartphone without leaving space between its two halves. On the other hand, this technology seems to prevent the smartphone from being waterproof, as is the case with the Z Flip 3 and 4.
Ross Young seemed to be referring to this hinge design: in two tweets from January and February 2023, the leaker ice universe again echoed the information from the screen specialist, giving “confirmation“according to him the next Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 5”will adopt teardrop hinges and support IPX8 waterproof».
Confirmation: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Flip5 will adopt waterdrop hinges and support IPX8 waterproof.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 24, 2023
If this information is true, the Z Flip 5 would therefore be the first smartphone in the world to opt for this hinge design while retaining the protection against water present in the two previous models. We can believe it, because the manufacturer had already filed patents on this folded screen design as early as 2016. On the other hand, just like the other foldable smartphones on the market, there is no indication of an upcoming dust protection.
Some features we can guess
Although the rest of the specifications of Samsung’s next flip smartphone are not the subject of rumors or credible leaks at the moment, we can easily guess that certain features of this upcoming Galaxy Z Flip 5 should be similar to the technical specifications of the two previous models. some.
logical evolutions
The Galaxy Z Flip range has always opted for the most recent version of Android available at the time of its launch, and this is likely to continue: the Galaxy Z Flip 5 could be marketed directly under the One UI 5.1 interface, based on Android 13 Como For all its new models, Samsung is also expected to deliver 4 years of major operating system updates and 5 years of security patches.
Another novelty that seems likely: the transition to the Bluetooth 5.3 standard, the most recent at present.
No change if still valid
We can also think that the materials used in the previous Z Flip models will remain the same, although their proportions may change due to possible improvements to the external screen and hinges. Therefore, we could find a screen made of plastic, a glass back and aluminum edges.
On the display side, the AMOLED technology and 120Hz refresh rate are still among the best in the high-end smartphone market. Therefore, we can also expect the Z Flip 5 to be equipped with it.
Finally, the camera types could remain the same, with a main wide-angle module paired with an ultra-wide module. Although market standards have been integrating a triplet of cameras for several years (wide angle, ultra wide angle and telephoto), the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and 4 have not taken the step. Samsung seems to want to make a difference with its Galaxy Z Fold range, equipped with these three modules.
A similar price, but that could increase
If there are no rumors about it at the moment, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 could be sold at a fairly similar price, but higher than the previous model, it would only be a consequence of the continuous increase in consumer prices. In addition, the increase in the prices of raw materials and the possible higher production cost of the hypothetical new smartphone hinge could also affect the sale price.
For its base 128GB model, we can expect it to sell for between 1,109 (MSRP of the Z Flip 4 when it launches) and, based on our inflation-based forecast for August 2023, up to 1,180 euros.
When will the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 be released?
The date of the official announcement of the Z Flip 5 is quite easy to guess since the last two Galaxy Z Flips were presented to the public on the second Wednesday of August 2021 and 2022. So we can expect what the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will see during the month. August 2023.
Drawing the same parallels with the last two generations of Samsung’s foldable smartphone, the marketing of this smartphone also has a good chance of being effective about two weeks after its introduction. Therefore, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 should launch around August.
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