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 2019Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2: September 2020Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3: August 2021Samsung 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/₹154,999512GB: $2,009/£1,769/€1,919/₹164,9991TB: $2,249/£2,019/€2,159/₹184,999
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3:
256GB: $1,799/£1,599/€1,799/₹149,999512GB: $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.
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. 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. 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. 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. Martyn has been involved with tech ever since the arrival of his ZX Spectrum back in the early 80s. He covers iOS, Android, Windows and macOS, writing tutorials, buying guides and reviews for Macworld and its sister site Tech Advisor.
