Now it's official: Samsung unveiled today (Wednesday) its two new foldable smartphones: the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The announcement event took place in South Korea, and the company also introduced the sixth generation of its smartwatches and the Galaxy Tab S9 tablet series.
The most significant improvement comes in the enhanced folding mechanism, which allows the two parts of the device to be closely attached to each other when the device is closed – addressing years of criticism about the gap between the parts during folding. While the Fold model folds horizontally like a book, the Flip model opens vertically, similar to older flip phones.
The two new smartphones feature a "Snapdragon 8 Gen 2" processor from Qualcomm, which is also included in the Galaxy S23 models. In terms of the screen, the Fold model remains largely unchanged, with a 6.2-inch external display and a large 7.8-inch internal screen. However, the Flip model has been upgraded with a new external display, which has grown from 1.9 to 3.4 inches, allowing users to operate adapted applications without opening the device.
Other features remained relatively similar to the previous generation, with battery sizes remaining at 4,400 milliampere-hours for the Fold model and 3,300 milliampere-hours for the Flip model. The internal memory also remains at 8 gigabytes for the Flip and 12 gigabytes for the Fold, but the storage capacity has increased and now starts at 256 gigabytes instead of 128 as in the older devices.
How much will the new devices cost?
And what about the price? Fans are expected to be disappointed: as anticipated, the prices of the new devices will be higher compared to last year. The pre-sale started today, and buyers will receive their devices starting from August 11th. The new devices will arrive in stores a week later, on August 17th.
The Flip device will cost 3,399 shekels for the base model, and 4,499 shekels for the model with double storage capacity of 512GB. However, customers who purchase through the official importer during the pre-sale will receive a memory upgrade at no additional cost, along with a branded cover and a content card as a gift.
Meanwhile, the price for the base model of the Fold device will be 6,799 shekels, and here too, memory upgrades will be available at no additional cost during the pre-sale. Additionally, customers will receive a cover with a touch pen for the device.