Samsung Unpacked is coming up in a jiffy this July, which means it’s the time of the year for leaked renders to start making their way to the interwebs. The latest leaked renders of the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 show that it will likely maintain much of the same design as the previous year’s iteration, only now these double screened big boys might finally fold flat.
The leaked images come from MySmartPrice, and it seems the next foldables from Samsung have been hitting the gym since 2022. The slimmed-down foldables seem to have a smaller bezel, though the Fold 5 maintains the three-camera array that we saw on the Fold 4 with the same pronounced lenses. What’s most interesting about these renders is the new hinge, perhaps the secret to the superior fold. Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
MySmartPrice reveals the press render of the upcoming Samsung #GalaxyZFold5.https://t.co/Pw1vlS7mri
— mysmartprice (@mysmartprice) June 15, 2023
The site’s renders of the Flip 4 don’t share as much about the hinge, though they show that Samsung is adding a massive exterior screen to its clamshell device while still leaving room for two exterior camera sensors.
🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨
This is your first look at the Samsung #GalaxyZFlip5. https://t.co/cLABXumhLf
— mysmartprice (@mysmartprice) June 16, 2023
Back in March, the Korean news site The Elec said that the Fold 5 would reduce the thickness to within 14mm from the Fold 4’s 15.8 mm. The report noted, based on supply chain insiders, that Samsung was stress testing its new foldable’s hinge to try and cut back on users’ breakage complaints. This “waterdrop” hinge allows the phone to flex inwards, which creates less of a crease and causes no visible gap between the two halves of the screen once the phone is fully closed.
Otherwise, rumours have it the Fold 5 is expected to contain a 7.6 inch AMOLED display inside and a 6.2-inch display on the cover. The next-gen flip could feature a 6.7-inch display inside and a 3.4-inch outer screen. Both foldables are supposed to contain the high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, which would put them in line with other ultra-expensive devices of their class.
The Flip might have a smaller, 3700mAH battery. According to the leaks, the Fold 5 will come with a 4400mAH battery with 45W fast charging. With specs like that, you can expect the Fold 5 won’t budge much in price compared to the Fold 4’s $US1,800 ($2,499), though those details remain to be seen.
Why all the commotion over a hinge? Well, Google’s own Pixel Fold Device was first shown off in May, and the company has been trying to promote its hinge tech as extremely durable compared to other foldables on the market. Gizmodo’s own tests of Google’s foldable show that it has far larger bezels than the leaked renders of Samsung’s next device. The Pixel Fold has hinges on either end of the phone rather than on the spine. The Fold 5 leaked renders do seem to indicate it has something closer to Samsung’s earlier designs.
So far, no one company has fully figured out a hinge for a durable foldable device. Motorola’s upcoming Razr+ has an exposed hinge on the inside of the phone. The OnePlus N2 Flip managed to close the gap far better than Samsung’s similar offering.
According to MySmartPrice, the Fold 5 alongside the Z Flip 5 could be revealed next month during the Samsung Unpacked event in South Korea and have an expected launch date in August after an initial Korean release.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.