Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series models are the world’s most popular foldable phones, and for good reason – they combine a foldable design with decent specs and a relatively affordable price tag.
We hope the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will continue this trend, and in this article we’ve put together a wish list of what we expect from the device beyond that.
But it is not everything. We’re already starting to hear rumors about what the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 might offer, so you’ll find them below as well, along with information on the possible release date and price of the phone.
We will update this article as soon as we know anything new about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, so check back regularly for the latest information.
To the point
- What is this? Another entry in Samsung’s Z Flip foldable line
- when is it coming out? Probably August 2023
- How much does it cost? Probably around $999.99 / £999 / AU$1499
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 release date and price
While there is no news yet on when the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be announced, we can only guess. We anticipate seeing it on August 9, 2023, as that is the second Wednesday of next August, and Samsung released the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 on the second Wednesday in August in their respective release years.
Based on the earlier form, it’s likely to be around two weeks before it ships, so you should be able to have it in your hands by the end of August if our prediction is correct.
The price is harder to predict but will likely cost a similar amount to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 which starts at $999.99 / £999 / AU$1,499.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 news and leaks
One of the early leaks regarding the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the claim that it will use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset (the kind that powers phones in the newly released Samsung Galaxy S23 range).
Given that the Galaxy Z Flip 4 uses the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 it always seemed likely – although if a Plus version of the Gen 2 chipset is on the horizon, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 could pack it in.
Elsewhere, we’ve heard from another source that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 could have a 3.3- or 3.4-inch screen. That’s more than the Galaxy Z Flip 4’s mere 1.9 inches, so it would be much larger.
A Motorola Razr 2023 leak from Twitter showed a similarly large cover display that wrapped around the camera lenses. Then another Galaxy Z Flip 5 leak confirmed that Samsung’s design will be very similar. Looks like a shell battle will be on the cover this year.
We also heard that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will have a new hinge design that will reduce the visibility of the seam. This is known as the waterdrop hinge and a second rumor on the subject also says the phone will be waterproof.
Finally, a recent report suggests the Flip 5 will be offered in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage variants, the same storage options Samsung chose with the Z Flip 4. The 128GB variant will reportedly not benefit from UFS 4.0 speeds, though. Instead, being the cheapest option of the three, the entry-level Flip 5 will stick to its predecessor’s UFS 3.1 specs.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: what we want to see
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 wasn’t much of an upgrade over the Galaxy Z Flip 3, so we’d like to see bigger improvements from the next model, including the following.
1. Telephoto
Telephoto is a standard feature on almost all high-end phones, but it’s a feature that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 lacks.
In fact, the Z Flip 4 only has a dual-lens camera consisting of a 12-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle snapper, so it’s fairly basic and lacking on the photo front. We want to see big upgrades for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 here, with a telephoto lens added and perfect upgrades to the other cameras.
2. Better battery life
Battery life is an issue for many phones, and even more so for foldables, as they tend to have smaller batteries than similarly sized conventional phones.
This is probably because the folding mechanism takes up space that could otherwise be used by the battery, but this is a definite problem; often leads to below average longevity.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, for example, only has a 3,700mAh battery, and we noted in our review that its performance was disappointing, so we’d like to see a battery boost in the Galaxy Z Flip 5.
3. Lower price
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is actually one of the more affordable foldable phones out there, but given the specs you get – the side-folding screen – it’s still quite expensive, so we’d love to see Samsung drop the price a bit for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 .
That probably won’t happen – especially if there are significant spec upgrades – but it would make the device even more appealing.
4. Larger cover screen
While the 6.7-inch foldable home screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is a decent size, the 1.9-inch display on the cover – which can be seen and interacted with when the main screen is folded – is too small to see much of it to do .
Sure, it can show notifications and the time, but it’s too small to interact with properly, meaning you’ll need to open up your phone for most smartphone functions. We’d love to see a bigger secondary screen on the next model, allowing you to keep your phone folded more often.
5. More significant improvements
We’ve detailed some of the improvements we want above in detail, but overall we want the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 to feel like a major improvement over the Galaxy Z Flip 4.
The last two models have been very similar to each other, so it’s time for us to see some major updates – and we’ll have to do that to have a good chance of ranking among the best foldable phones.