As good as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is — it's at the top of our best foldable phones list for a reason — it's definitely bulky. But a new leak says the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could be much lighter, fixing one of our biggest complaints.
Tipster No Name (AKA Chu) claims the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 could be lighter than its predecessor. Foldables are traditionally much heavier than their static counterparts and the Z Fold 4 weighs a hefty 9.28 ounces or 263 grams. Granted, it has a huge 7.6-inch display, but it's simply just a lot to handle.
Rumors were already swirling that an unnamed new material will lower the device's weight but No Name claims the Z Fold 5 is “expected to be around 10g lighter than the Fold 4 (9-12g from what I heard).”
This is a step in the right direction and would come out to 253 grams or 8.9 ounces. The 8.47 ounce iPhone 14 Pro Max and 8.25-ounce Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra both weigh less, but this would be a huge improvement.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 will set a new record for foldable phones' weight when its weight is expected to be around 10g lighter than the Fold 4 (9-12g from what I heard). Also, both the Flip and Fold will use Samsung's own version of raindrop hinge to make both phones gap-less.March 9, 2023
Galaxy Z Fold 5: A big step forward?
In addition to shedding some weight, No Name expects the Z Fold 5 to feature a “waterdrop” style hinge that's larger but shallower and has a less prominent crease.
This lines up with previous rumors and there's hope it will result in a more durable folding mechanism. The Z Fold 4, for example, only managed an IPX8 water resistant (not waterproof) rating and it offers no dust protection whatsoever.
No Name believes because of the gapless nature of the waterdrop hinge style, that Samsung is “considering” adding dust-proof certification. Given the high price of the Z Fold range, we'd hope Samsung implements this.
A key area the Z Fold 5 could improve on over its predecessor are the cameras; on the Z Fold 4, the under-display camera was just 4MP. As for the rear camera, Samsung has indicated a desire to improve this on future foldables and some rumors suggest we could see a 108MP camera introduced.
Foldable phones are still an exciting technology, but they're hardly new anymore. We should rightly expect better from the creator of the best phones.
