Mats Hellqvist
Samsung has already involuntarily confirmed to present the Galaxy S23 series on February 1st. For months, rumors and leaks have revealed pretty much everything about the new flagships. Accordingly, the next Samsung smartphones will soon take the place in the front row – the Galaxy Z Flip5 and the Galaxy Z Fold5. The latter has now appeared in a major leak from Vietnam.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 renders
Editors of the Vietnamese website The Pixel claim that the Galaxy Z Fold5 is powered by a 4Nm Qualcomm chipset called the Snapdragon 985 5G. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is Qualcomm’s current top processor. In the second half of the year there is usually a Plus version – the Galaxy Z Fold4 got exactly that last year, the Snapragon 8+ Gen 1. Accordingly, the SD 985 5G in the Fold5 could become Qualcomm’s new 8+ Gen 2.
The report also comments on the dimensions. The Galaxy Z Fold5 is said to be slightly thicker at 6.5 instead of 6.3 mm and also slightly heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold4 at 275 instead of 263 grams. That may sound disappointing at first, but Samsung may be creating the necessary space for an S Pen slot in the case. Although the Fold4 supports Samsung’s stylus, there’s no slot like in the Galaxy S22 Ultra, or a cradle to store the S Pen. The heavier weight could indicate a larger battery, which would close the gap with its main competitor, the Oppo Find N2.
2023: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 vs Google Pixel Fold
The report itself attributes the weight gain to the camera setup, which would point to new, and presumably larger, sensors. A previous report had put a 12 instead of 10 megapixel front camera in play. The main and telephoto cameras, on the other hand, were only upgraded last year when switching from the Galaxy Z Fold3 to the Z Fold4. Therefore, nothing should change in this regard with the Fold5.
Google Pixel Fold renders
However, the aforementioned Oppo Find N2 has better cameras than the Fold4. In addition, Google should present its first foldable Google Pixel Fold when the Fold5 launches. Since Google’s Pixel phones normally bring powerful cameras, Samsung may also opt for new cameras in the Galaxy Z Fold5. There were also rumors about this, which also speculated about a less noticeable crease.
Samsung is currently still building the best foldable packages, but that should be much more difficult in 2023. As such, we may see more than iterative changes in the Galaxy Z Fold5.
