According to a new report from The Elec, Samsung has started testing the new teardrop hinge for its upcoming Galaxy Z Fold5 smartphone. As usual, the launch of the Samsung foldable is planned for the second half of the year. It will probably come along with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 in August.
The teardrop hinge is a common design in the industry. It allows the axle to roll onto itself in the hinge and offers several advantages. On the one hand it reduces the distance between the two halves of the Galaxy Z Fold5, on the other hand it minimizes the crease in the middle of the display. During this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung showed off a new hinge design that’s only 14mm thin. The current solution in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 (review) is 15.8 mm thick.
The news is not a big surprise. Several reports have come out over the last few months stating that Samsung is working on an improved droplet hinge design.
However, it could still be a few weeks before the new hinge of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 is ready for takeoff. The internal tests are relatively lengthy, since a single prototype takes about five days to test. The benchmark is 200,000 folds, after which the hinge must still have at least 85% of its original strength.
