The launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 is only a few weeks away, and Samsung clearly expects them to be big hits: according to a new report by 9to5google, Samsung expects to sell 15 million units of the two phones, which have got some of my colleagues very excited: the Galaxy Flip 4 looks set to be one of the best folding phones, and quite possibly one of the best Android phones full stop.
But there's something even more interesting in the report: the first details of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Flip 5. Samsung expects the next generation Fold and Flip to be even more successful, and it's predicting sales of 10 million units in the second half of 2023, with the lion's share – 80% – being the Galaxy Z Flip 5. That's an awful lot of phones, but the phones are set to be awfully good.
What to expect from the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
The design language of the Fold and Flip is well established now and doesn't look dated, so we wouldn't expect a dramatic redesign for the fifth generation: Samsung tends to take a more iterative approach, so for example there's a subtle but clear progression in the models leading up to the current Samsung Galaxy S22.
The report says that the Fold will continue with three rear cameras, and the primary one will have a 50MP ISOCELL GN3 sensor. A 12MP camera is also there, but there's no indication of a second one so it seems that the under-display selfie camera is either being upgraded or removed. Details of the Flip's cameras haven't been finalised yet.
Samsung intends to use Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processors in both phones; the Fold 4 and Flip 4 are getting the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1, the current Qualcomm flagship.
In the continued absence of a folding iPhone, Samsung is the biggest player in the folding phone market; while Apple is believed to be working on its own folder, we don't expect to see it until the iPhone 16 - if ever.
