Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Cover Display With Widget-Based Interface Spotted in Leaked Images Ahead of Launch

We are just a week away from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked launch event, which is set to take place in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung is expected to announce a number of products but the event seems to be mainly focussed on its upcoming foldable devices which include the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5. We have seen plenty of leaks about both devices, but it seems that the rumour mill isn't quite done with them just yet. A reliable source has now revealed images of both smartphones that appear to corroborate previously leaked details about their respective hinges. More importantly, we get our first glimpse of how Samsung is expected to utilise the new larger cover display on its Galaxy Z Flip 5.

The leaked images were revealed by Roland Quandt on Twitter, after which they were taken down from the microblogging service. They were later published by 9to5Google. One of the images gives us some details about how Samsung plans on using the outer screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. The image reveals a number of applications which seem to appear more like widgets or cards instead of full-fledged apps. One of the cards on the display also shows a full keyboard when replying to a notification, while the other shows a flight boarding pass. There's even a card for the weather and recent calls, which suggests that users will be able to access a lot of information without opening the phone.

While it still isn't clear whether Samsung's outer display will be completely widget-based (like the current Galaxy Z Flip 4, it is pretty clear that Samsung's display has a taller squarish layout versus the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra's rectangular layout — when not used in full screen mode with the cameras getting in the way. If the image does turn out to be genuine, Samsung surely seems to have an advantage as most apps (especially with a full keyboard) will work better with a taller display. What remains to be seen is if Samsung will run full apps on its outer display.

Leaked image of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 showing functionality of its outer display
Photo Credit: Twitter: Roland Quandt (@rquandt)

What we know through a past report is that Samsung might be planning to run optimised versions of Google apps on the outer screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. It isn't clear whether this would be just for Google's default apps (Google Messages, YouTube, and Google Maps) or will also include such support for third-party apps.

Another detail revealed as part of this leak is the hinge design on both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Fold 5. Quandt released clear renders of both devices showing how both have a gapless folding design with the new hinge. This new hinge design also makes both phones appear a lot thinner in the side profile photos.

Samsung is expected to reveal both the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 alongside other devices like the purported Galaxy Tab S9 series and the Galaxy Watch 6 series. You can read more about the Galaxy Z series devices here.