Now that 2023 is well underway, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumors are coming thick and fast, and the latest speculation concerns the upcoming foldable’s camera setup.
Per a new report from Vietnamese tech outlet The Pixel (opens in new tab), the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 could swap out the 50MP rear camera utilized by its predecessor – the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 – for a much more powerful 108MP rear sensor (of the sort featured on the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra).
The Pixel also suggests that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could feature a 64MP telephoto camera (with 2x optical zoom) and a 12MP ultrawide snapper. That setup would trump the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s 10MP telephoto sensor, but lose out on the latter’s 3x optical zoom capabilities.
That last point has us exercising a degree of caution over these new rumors. While it’s undoubtedly exciting to think that we might finally see a foldable phone capable of matching non-foldables in the photography department, it’s hard to imagine Samsung giving the Galaxy Z Fold 5 weaker optical zoom capabilities than its predecessor.
What’s more, as SamMobile (opens in new tab) notes, Samsung’s track record of seldom implementing two major camera revisions on the trot raises another red flag. The Galaxy Z Fold 4’s camera setup marked a significant improvement over the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3’s equivalent sensors, which makes us slightly skeptical that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 would feature yet another significant snapper upgrade.
Of course, we do expect some form of photographic improvement from the Galaxy Z Fold 5 over the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but we’re hesitant to lean full-tilt into rumors of a 108MP rear sensor and a 64MP telephoto lens, at this stage.
Anaylsis: folding in more than just camera upgrades
We do, however, have more faith in rumors surrounding Galaxy Z Fold 5’s design. Per South Korean outlet Naver (opens in new tab), Samsung intends to use a water drop-shaped hinge in its upcoming foldable, which would allow the phone to fold completely flat, with no gaps visible between the two halves of its display.
Several handsets from Chinese manufacturers already use this design approach for their foldables (with examples including the Huawei Mate X2, Honor Magic Vs and Oppo Find N2), but at the cost of full water resistance. Samsung, however, is reportedly planning to add the new hinge shape while maintaining an IPX8 rating for the Galaxy Z Fold 5, a feature no rival has been able to compete on in the foldable space.
As for the phone’s release date, we’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 to arrive sometime in August 2023. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 2 were all unveiled in August in their respective years of release, so we anticipate that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will stick with tradition in that regard.
There’s been no word yet on the phone’s price, but the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched for $1,799 / £1,649 / AU$2,499, so a similarly eye-watering figure is to be expected for its successor. Even so, these upgrades might help it find a place on our rundown of the best Samsung phones out there.
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