Samsung unpacks new foldables with slimmer design, upgraded processor

Industry

Published: 26 Jul. 2023, 20:00 Updated: 27 Jul. 2023, 09:46

Samsung unpacks new foldables with slimmer design, upgraded processor

Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon holds up the newest foldable smartphones - Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 - at the Galaxy Unpacked event held Wednesday in COEX in southern Seoul. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled its latest foldable duo — the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 — as the Korean smartphone producer looks to solidify its leading position in the fast-growing foldable market.

The prices have gone up and the processors have been upgraded compared to the Z series' previous versions.

The Z Flip 5 price starts from 1.39 million won ($1,090), up by approximately 3.4 percent compared to the Flip 4 for the 256-gigabyte storage option. The Z Fold 5 price starts from 2.1 million won, up by 5 percent.

Both phones will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the same type of chipset deployed on Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S23 series. The Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 were powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1.

“Samsung Electronics has pioneered the mobile industry with foldable technology, setting new standards,” Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon, head of the company’s mobile business, said.

“The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 are the most recent products that realize Samsung Electronics’ promise to provide an experience that is customized to every customer’s need through innovative technology."

The design upgrade in the newest foldable phones is immediately visible.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Z Fold 5, left, and Z Flip 5 are on display [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

The two smartphones come with a redesigned hinge, which Samsung labeled as the “flex hinge," enabling the phones to be folded flatter when compared to the U-shaped hinge from the previous version, which left a gap between the two folding halves.

The new hinge “not only provides a balanced design,” but also “disperses exterior shock” to enhance durability, according to the electronics company.

The Z Flip 5, as rumored, has been deployed with a bigger cover screen that measures 3.4 inches diagonally. That is almost double the size of the Flip 4's 1.9-inch cover screen.

The size of the main display and the weight both remained the same.

The Z Flip 5's bigger cover display gives users access to more functions when the lid is closed.

On top of checking new messages and calls, the Z Flip 5 now allows them to type replies to messages using the qwerty keyboard that pops up on the cover.

Users can now access up to 10 downloaded apps from the outer screen in addition to 13 widgets installed on the gadget providing information related to the weather and the stock market.

The camera can be activated directly from the outer screen to take photos or shoot videos with a 12-megapixel camera installed on the back. The photos can also be instantly checked and edited from the cover display.

The more premium Z Fold 5 boasts the slimmest design out of all its predecessors, according to the tech company. Even the S Pen that comes as a separate accessory has gotten slimmer.

The S Pen thickness is now 4.35 millimeters compared to 7.4 millimeters from the Fold 4.

The display has gotten brighter by more than 30 percent to support 1,750 nits.

The Z Flip 5 will available be in four colors with the mint shade newly added to the graphite, cream and lavender lineup. When purchased either online or at the newly opened Samsung Gangnam flagship store, the yellow, gray and blue shades will also be exclusively available.

The Z Fold 5 will be available in ice blue, phantom black and cream with gray and blue shades exclusively available online and at Samsung Gangnam.

The two smartphones will hit local retail stores from Aug. 11 after receiving preorders from Aug. 1-7.

The Galaxy Watch 6 and its classic variation were also unveiled, which came with bigger screens and the newest processor.

The Galaxy Watch 6’s display has gotten bigger by 20 percent with a slimmer bezel, supporting a maximum of 2,000 nit brightness.

They prioritize wellness functions by installing a so-called BioActive sensor enabling sleep pattern management, heart rate monitoring and menstrual cycle prediction.

They run on the Samsung-designed Exynos W930 chipset, compared to the Exynos W920 installed on the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5.

The Galaxy Unpacked event was held Wednesday evening at Coex in southern Seoul with more than 1,500 attendees including 500 journalists from the foreign press. It was the first time for the Unpacked event to be held on its home turf since the Galaxy brand launched in 2010, as Samsung Electronics attempts to emphasize its leadership and originality in the fast-growing foldable smartphone market.

Samsung Electronics accounted for 62 percent of the global foldable market as of the first half of 2022, according to Counterpoint Research.