Release date, price, specs, rumors, and more

Update, July 11, 2023 (7:00 AM ET): We’ve updated this Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumor hub with more apparently leaked photos showing a real-world model.

Original article: Samsung usually launches new Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip devices just in time for the fall season. The foldable phones are currently in their fourth generation and have comfortably replaced the once-reigning Galaxy Note series. Needless to say, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be next in line for the title of this year’s most premium Samsung phone, following the top-of-the-line Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Over time, Samsung has continuously refined its foldable phone formula. While the devices have more or less looked the same through the years, we’ve seen improvements in display tech, durability, new software tricks, and more. Of course, the internal hardware keeps getting obvious upgrades, such as more powerful SoCs and better cameras. This year too, rumors are already painting the Galaxy Z Fold 5 as Samsung’s most revered foldable ever. Here’s what we know so far.

Samsung’s mobile head recently said that the company’s foldable phones could overtake its S series flagships in shipments by 2025. That company wants its flexible line to become the “new standard” for smartphones. Even if it does manage to accomplish that feat, don’t expect the Z series to adopt the S family’s multiple-model approach for this next generation. At the same time, there likely won’t be multiple sizes, either.

Display insider Ross Young claimed on April 5 that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 would be available in Beige, Black, and Light Blue color options. Samsung will likely rename these colors to Cream, Phantom Black, and Blue. However, Young added that other colors could join the party as well.

Unknown tipster Buliga David Cristian posted apparent Galaxy Z Fold 5 colorways on Twitter on June 18. They claim that the foldable will be available in Cream, Diamond, and Phantom Black colors. They add that the phone will also get some exclusive colors, namely Blue, Coral, and Platinum.

That being said, we wouldn’t expect the company to reveal anything about the new foldable until just a few weeks before launch. So we won’t officially know until then.

• Samsung Galaxy Fold — March 20, 2019
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 — August 5, 2020
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 — August 24, 2021
• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 — August 10, 2022

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched like clockwork on August 10, 2022. The Z Fold 3 also came in August, albeit more toward the end of the month. Understandably, we assumed Samsung would stick to its usual schedule, and we would see the Galaxy Z Fold 5 announced sometime around mid-to-late August this year.

However, in June, Samsung confirmed that it would launch its “next-generation foldable devices” in late July during an event in Seoul. You can now go ahead and mark your calendars for a July 26 launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and its sibling product, the Galaxy Z Flip 5. To learn more, check out our dedicated Galaxy Z Fold 5 release date post.

You can also reserve the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 on Samsung’s website now to get a $50 store credit, which you can use when the pre-orders for the phones go live.

• Samsung will use a new teardrop hinge for the Fold 5 to help minimize the gap and the crease.
• Renders seem to show a device that’s thinner and has smaller bezels.
• A supposed real-life photo also shows a gap-less hinge.

We don’t have a ton of official information about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. You can expect that to trickle in as we get closer to the launch. However, we do have some rumors that point to multiple upgrades.

Samsung’s booklet-style phones have always had a gap between the two halves when folded. A recent report claimed that won’t be the case with the Galaxy Z Fold 5. The company is said to be using a teardrop-style hinge, similar to what we’ve seen on the OPPO Find N2 and the Google Pixel Fold. This will ensure the two sides of the display close flat on top of each other when the device is folded.

The design change is also expected to reduce the appearance of the display crease. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and its predecessors have a prominent wrinkle in the middle. With the new design, the display will form a teardrop shape when closed, thus making for a much gentler curve and less creasing. Below you can see an image of such a design Samsung patented a few years back.

In fact, Korean publication Naver also claims it saw a prototype of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 hinge at CES 2023. The image below shows the alleged design in comparison to the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and surely the newer hinge makes the device a lot more compact.

In collaboration with tipster OnLeaks, SmartPrix published a handful of leaked renders, giving us our first look at the Fold 5. The leaks suggest Samsung has reduced the thickness to 13.4mm when folded. It’s also expected to retain the same 6.2-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner screen. However, Samsung could decrease the size of the bezels.

In June, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 was believed to be spotted in the wild for the first time. Twitter user @AhmedQwaider888 shared three real-life photos (now deleted) of the foldable, highlighting the near-gapless design and back.

A shaky report from a Vietnamese website called The Pixel claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be slightly taller than the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Specifically, the phone could measure 158.5 x 128.5 x 6.5mm unfolded and 158.5 x 67.5 x 14.5 – 16mm when folded. It reportedly weighs around 275g. Ice Universe later went on to claim that the phone would measure 154.9 x 67.1 x 13.4mm when folded and 154.9 x 129.9 x 6.3mm. This would conflict with the report from The Pixel.

Leaker Ice Universe has poured water on suggestions that the new foldable will have a significantly reduced display crease, though. The tipster noted on July 3 that the Z Fold 5 crease looks indistinguishable from the Z Fold 4’s crease.

More apparent real-world images leaked on July 11 when a Redditor posted shots of what seemed to be a prototype Galaxy Z Fold 5 (seen above). The images show the thickness of the purported device when folded, while also showing the back, smartphone display, and folding panel. For what it’s worth, the Redditor claimed that they obtained the images from another user who was looking to sell the handset. 

• The outer display is rumored to be 6.2 inches.
• The folding display is said to be 7.6 inches.
• The new design could allow Samsung’s foldable to have an official rating against dust.

Samsung powered the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 SoC. We currently don’t have a Plus variant of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which may be why reliable leaker Yogesh Brar says the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could come with just a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, presumably the same overclocked version found inside the Galaxy S23 series. Brar also suggests we’ll see a 6.2-inch FHD+ AMOLED outer display, a 7.6-inch QXGA+ AMOLED folding display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4,400 mAh battery, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB/512GB/1TB storage options.

Notably, Samsung’s new design could enable something we’ve never seen on a Samsung foldable before: an official rating against dust. According to leaker chunvn8888 on Twitter, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could have an IP58 rating. This wouldn’t be as good as the IP68 rating on non-foldables, but it would be much better than the IPX8 rating on previous Samsung foldables (the “X” means there is no ingress protection at all).

In saying so, tipster Ice Universe claimed on July 3 that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 “does not meet the IP58 dust-proof standard.” This suggests that the foldable will be equipped with an IPX8 rating like the current model.

Perhaps the most important rumor from The Pixel is the camera specs of the phone. Reports suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could challenge the best camera phones with a 108MP main shooter, a 64MP 2x telephoto lens, and a 12MP wide-angle camera. However, Brar disputed The Pixel‘s earlier camera claims, instead asserting that the Z Fold 5 will offer a similar camera system as the Z Fold 4. More specifically, he points to a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide sensor, and 12MP telephoto camera.

The leak also claims there will be an under-display selfie camera and a camera for the front panel. The selfie camera is said to be 4MP, while the outer camera could be 10MP. He added that we should also expect new image sensors, but it’s unclear if this applies to all cameras or specific lenses.

Originally, rumors suggested the phone could have an S Pen slot. Samsung’s large screen foldable is the perfect candidate for stylus input. But for some reason, the company has yet to add a dedicated slot for the accessory. So an S Pen slot for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 was also on our wishlist for the phone.

However, Korean outlet ET News reported that Samsung decided against bringing an S Pen slot to the Z Fold 5. The company apparently chose to skip the slot as it would’ve made the foldable thicker and would’ve had ramifications for internal space. ET News is quite a reputable publication, and the renders/images we’ve seen so far all show a phone with no S Pen slot. We’re pretty confident it won’t happen this time around.

Both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 were priced at $1,799 when they launched. We don’t expect Samsung to price the new foldable higher than its predecessors, especially given the current state of the global economy and the fact that the Pixel Fold has a $1,799 MSRP. It would be unwise for Samsung to increase smartphone prices and make its flagship foldable even more unreachable than it already is for most folks.

Interestingly, a rumor from tipster Revegnus suggests that the Fold 5 will be slightly cheaper than the Fold 4. However, Revegnus didn’t say how much of a reduction it would be.

We’ll update this article if and when we know more.

Have any Galaxy Z Fold 5 leaks to share with us? Send us a tip, and we’ll be sure to check it out.