Samsung will hold its next Galaxy Unpacked event on 26 July and it is highly expected that we will see the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 during the event, succeeding the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, respectively.
While nothing has been confirmed about the Galaxy Z Fold 5 by Samsung itself, there have been a number of rumours surrounding the device over the last few months, giving us a good idea as to what we can expect. If you’re wondering how the Galaxy Z Flip 5 might compare to the Galaxy Z Flip 4, we have you covered in a separate feature, but here we are running up the rumoured specs of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 against the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 hasn’t been announced yet, but you can already register your interest and if you do that, you’ll get $50 off when you pre-order. Currently though, it is unknown what price that $50 will be coming off of, but if you believe that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the folding phone for you no matter what, then it’s a good offer to make sure you grab. Rumours suggest it will be coming in Beige, Black and Light Blue colour options.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 meanwhile, launched at $1799 in the US and £1649 in the UK, though currently, there is some money off so you might be able to pick it up a little cheaper than that if you look around. It comes in four colour options of Graygreen, Phantom Black, Beige and Burgundy so slightly different to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 if the rumours are accurate.
Design and build
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is claimed to be larger than its predecessor, whilst also featuring a redesigned hinge that will allow it to fold completely flat. This is thought to mark the biggest distinction between the Z Fold 5 and the Z Fold 4. Based on the leaked images of the Z Fold 5, the edges appear to be slightly flatter than the Z Fold 4 too, and while initial rumours suggested we would see a built-in S Pen this time around, that is looking increasingly unlikely.
It’s expected the main design will remain similar, with a vertical book-style fold, a large display on the front with a centralised punch hole camera at the top, and a large internal display with an under-display camera. Some rumours have said the IP rating will move to IP67, which would mean it is rated against dust too, but like everything else at the moment, this is just a rumour.
When it comes to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, you get a similar design to the Galaxy Z Fold 3. It was more about refinement than a redesign, with a wider and shorter stance than the Z Fold 3, and it’s a great looking device overall, which the Z Fold 5 is also expected to be, if not more so. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 doesn’t fold flat like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is expected to, with a gap next to the hinge, though this model did introduce the Armour Aluminium frame that made it a little more resistant to drops and we’d expect that to carry through to the next generation. There’s an IPX8 water and dust resistance on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 – the gap near the hinge means it doesn’t get a dust rating. As is expected of the Z Fold 5, it has a book-style design with a large flexible display on the inside and a smaller, but very functional, display on the outside. On the side, there is a physical fingerprint sensor rather than an under-display option. It is not yet clear what the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will offer in terms of biometrics but we suspect it will retain the physical fingerprint sensor like its predecessor.
Display
When it comes to displays, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is rumoured to be coming with a similar screen tp the Galaxy Z Fold 4. There have been some suggestions that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will have a more durable and brighter display but otherwise, it’s looking like there won’t be too many changes in this department. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with a 6.2-inch external Dynamic AMOLED display with a 2316 x 904 pixel resolution. This results in a pixel density of 401ppi and it’s a bright and colour-rich panel that’s excellent in use.
The inner display is a 7.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a 2176 x 1812 pixel resolution that pushes out a pixel density of 373ppi. It has an Ultra Thin Glass layer over the top, which is what enables it to fold and while there is evidence of the crease on the Galaxy Z Fold 4, it’s only really noticeable when you swipe your thumb or finger across it rather than affecting everyday use. It has been claimed the crease will be less visible on the Galaxy Z Fold 5, though for now, it’s not clear if that will actually be the case. Ultimately, these creases are never likely to be invisible. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has an under-display camera at the top, which the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is also expected to offer, and while it is visible in certain lighting conditions, it can definitely be ignored. Overall, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 delivers two brilliant displays, both of which have a 120Hz refresh rate, so we have high expectations for the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s displays too.
Hardware and software
Rumours claim the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy platform, which the Galaxy S23 series runs on. It’s a custom version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 mobile platform with increased clock speeds on the CPU and GPU and the performance is great from these handsets. Memory and storage options have been suggested as 12GB RAM with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options, which is on par with the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 runs on Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and it offers 12GB of RAM with three storage options of 256GB, 512GB and 1TB. It’s an excellent performer, acting like a flagship phone, which is exactly what we would expect the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to offer too, especially with a bump in specs. We experienced zero lag with the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and we hope we will be able to say the same about the Galaxy Z Fold 5. There’s a 4400mAh battery within the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and while we typically got to the end of a day of our typical use with around 30 per cent left, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 would benefit from a larger battery for sure. Faster charging speeds would be good too as fast charging is limited to 25W, which is quite significantly slower now than rivals offer. So far, rumours haven’t detailed what battery capacity we can expect from the Galaxy Z Fold 5, though we suspect it will be at least the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 4, if not slightly larger. The Galaxy S23 series offers 25W on the entry model and then 45W on the S23+ and S23 Ultra, so there’s hope that the Z Fold 5 could be a little faster when it comes to charging.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has some great software features that take advantage of its larger screen and we fully expect this to be the case for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 too, with no doubt some extra tricks up its sleeve too. Though a built-in S Pen was reported in initial rumours, as we said, we don’t think this will be the case. We do however, believe the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will support the S Pen like the Galaxy Z Fold 4. We also expect multi-tasking and the ability to have a few apps running on the main internal display at once will remain core to the user experience of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, as it is on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. What new features we will see is still unknown but it is possible that the Galaxy Z Fold 4 will also get these with a software update so it might be there isn’t a huge difference in the user interface and experience between these two devices.
Cameras
According to the rumours, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will feature the same camera loadout as the Galaxy S23, which if true, means we could see a 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.7 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture. This is pretty much identical to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, except for a slightly wider aperture on the main sensor, which should help in low light conditions. Some reports have claimed the main camera could be the 108-megapixel sensor from the Galaxy S22 Ultra though, so there is still some uncertainty in this department for now. Reports have also claimed we will see improvements to the under-display camera, though it’s not currently detailed what these improvements could be. The front camera however, is said to be moving to a 12-megapixel sensor, which would match that of the Galaxy S23.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has a 50-megapixel main sensor with f/1.8 aperture, a 12-megapixel ultrawide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 10-megapixel telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture and the results it delivers are good with a good balance of colour and quality between the lenses. It’s not just about the results though, there are some clever features that elevate the experience, such as using the cover screen as the camera’s monitor, therefore meaning you can use the rear cameras to take selfies rather than the under-display camera or the front camera. We expect this to be the case on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 too though. The under-display camera is a 4-megapixel sensor and it’s not the best, while the front camera is a 10-megapixel sensor so it looks like the Z Fold 5 will be improving this sensor at least if the rumours are accurate.
Conclusion
Based on the rumours, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be bringing a refined design compared to its predecessor. The ability to fold completely flat will be refreshing, and it’s something that competitors now offer so it’s really needed here to remain competitive. It also looks like we will see internal upgrades, as you would expect and maybe some slight adjustments in the camera department. We also expect to see some new software features added.
On the whole, aside from the design improvements rumoured and the expected processor upgrades, there might not be huge differences. Nothing is confirmed or official for now though so we will update this feature as soon as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 has been revealed. For now, you can read our Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumour round up for all the nitty-gritty details.
