Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be slimmer – but still misses one key feature

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is arguably the epitome of foldable phone technology. The book-style foldable is one of the most premium handsets on the market, showcasing the best of Samsung's innovation in the space.

It's not without critics, though. Despite an eye-watering price tag, the Fold 4 lacks in some key areas compared to slab phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The battery, for example, is a 4,400mAh unit – less than the 5,000mAh which has become something of a standard in the best phones.

Keen to improve the value of the package next time out, Samsung are reportedly working on a host of improvements for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. According to a report by specialist Samsung blog, SamMobile, the Z Fold 5 will be slimmer and lighter than its predecessor.

The report states that Samsung are aiming for a device weight of 250g, although currently they are very marginally over that figure. They also report a folded depth of 13.4mm, shaving nearly a full millimetre off from its predecessor.

That reduction in size has come at a price though. Similar to the Z Fold 4 last year, there's rumoured to be no S-Pen slot on the Z Fold 5. Whether that means a system like last year, where the S-Pen still worked, but needed to be sheathed within a device case, or a total lack of support altogether, I can see this being the beginning of the end for the S-Pen.

Elsewhere in the report, we had confirmation of a redesigned hinge. That's now going to be a droplet-style design, with the two panels sitting flush against one another when folded. That style works incredibly well on the Oppo Find N2 Flip, with a near-invisible crease.

Apparently, that redesigned hinge does more than just making the internal screen look better. Reports suggest that the new blueprint could allow the handset to achieve an IPX8 water resistance rating. That would allow users to submerge the device in 1 metre of water for up to 30 minutes.

We also know, from previous reports, that the Z Fold 5 is expected to pack a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 inside, while the camera array is tipped to remain the same as the one found in the Z Fold 4.

With a launch event for Samsung's foldable phones widely expected to take place around August, we've still got quite a wait to find out if their handsets can maintain their place at the top of the foldable stack.