Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, Z Flip 5, Watch 6 Leaks Leave No Surprises For Launch Day – Augustman Malaysia

Before Apple drops a bunch of fresh new iPhones in September, Samsung will take to the stage to reveal its updated arsenal of foldable phones. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 have been around for a year and are in dire need of an upgrade. Rumours about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 have also been doing the rounds for several months now, allegedly revealing their expected design changes and upgraded specs. However, it’s the latest batch of leaks that has truly caught our attention as it has revealed a lot more about these phones than we previously knew. It has even revealed a fair bit of information about the Galaxy Watch 6.

Hence, if you are willing to splurge a part of your wealth on the next generation of Samsung’s products, including its foldable phones, you have come to the right place. These devices are expected to be announced by the end of July or early August, which leaves us with only a few weeks of waiting.

While the leaks present a pleasing picture of the next-gen of Samsung’s foldable phones, keep in mind that Samsung is yet to confirm anything officially. Hence, we suggest you take this write-up with a pinch of salt.

Samsung Z Fold 5: What do the leaks reveal about the next-gen smartphone?

The Samsung Z Fold series hasn’t really gone for dramatic upgrades since the second-gen Galaxy Z Fold 2. Samsung has mostly focused on refining its formula and applied some experimental features in between to keep customers coming in. With the Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung appears to be playing it safe once again, albeit with a couple of tweaks.

The Fold 5 is likely to feature the same design as the Fold 4, with a similar 6.2-inch 120Hz Cover display with a punch hole cutout for the selfie camera. The interiors will have the primary 7.6-inch foldable OLED display with an under-display front camera (but with slimmer bezels). A new hinge design is also expected to reduce the crease in the centre and allow for a zero-gap closing. All the structural engineering is expected to bring a certification for IP58, which is better at resisting dust and water ingress.

Considering that the Samsung Z Fold 5 will be the company’s ultimate flagship, it is rumoured to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. This chip has already been doing its duty on the Galaxy S23 series and is expected to bring a great balance of raw performance and power efficiency. The presence of a 4,400mAh battery should allow the phone to last an entire day on a single charge. Sadly, there isn’t much information yet about its charging speeds.

Some say that Samsung will continue using the same camera hardware as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 with changes being made to the software to extract better performance. Others say that Samsung could upgrade the main camera to a 108-megapixel sensor, the telephoto camera to a 64-megapixel sensor with 2x optical zoom and the ultrawide camera to a 12-megapixel sensor. Even with the rumoured upgrades, the Fold 5 will not be the camera-centric monster the S23 Ultra is.

There were rumours that the Samsung Z Fold 5 is getting an S Pen stylus integrated into the phone’s body. However, these rumours were later flagged as false claims.

Samsung Z Flip 5: Flipping the game for flip phones?

While the Samsung Z Fold 5 will go for reserved upgrades, the Samsung Z Flip 5 will see massive upgrades this year. With the looming threat of competitors like Motorola, Oppo and Vivo, Samsung is finally modernising its flip smartphone.

The original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip had a tiny cover display to show notifications and Samsung upgraded it to a larger 1.9-inch OLED display on the Flip 3. In 2023, Samsung is now expected to expand the display size to a 3.4-inch Cover Display, shaped after a folder. The bigger screen space is rumoured to run optimised versions of Google and Samsung apps, allowing for more functionality. We hope that users will be now able to type out text replies and check their emails on the cover display itself. This size expansion is also expected to make the viewfinder more useful for the cameras.

Speaking of the cameras, not much is actually known about them. The Flip 5 is rumoured to retain a 12-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The 10-megapixel camera could also remain on the inside.

It is expected that Samsung will offer an identical 6.7-inch FHD+ UTG AMOLED display with a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz on the inside. The Korean giant, however, will optimise the hinge design to minimise the crease. While this may please foldable phone fans, it is also expected to reduce the versatility of the Flex mode with limited angles of alignment.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will be powering the Samsung Z Flip 5, which should offer a nice balance of power and efficiency. While higher storage variants are rumoured to get the faster UFS 4.0 storage, the base variant with 128GB will use the slower UFS 3.1 storage. The battery capacity and charging speeds are expected to remain unchanged.

What we know about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

If there’s a smartwatch that can make the Apple Watch shake in its boots, it is Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series. Last year’s Galaxy Watch 5 series brought refinement to the forefront. The Watch 5 Pro had an impressive battery life and also introduced a couple of fitness features for hiking but ditched the rotating bezel from the Watch 4 Classic in favour of durability. This year, Samsung is undoing all that with the Watch 6 series.

Leaked renders have revealed a standard Galaxy Watch 6 that looks almost identical to the Galaxy Watch 5, save for the straps. The feature set is expected to be carried over from the Watch 5 but you can expect some new watch faces to spice things up. The Galaxy Watch 6 Classic also brings back the rotating bezel and chunky design. Specifications are still unknown, but rumours suggest an upgraded Exynos chip for improved performance.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 will offer a well-rounded package

The leaked images also reveal the Galaxy Buds 3, the successor to the Galaxy Buds 2 from 2021. While these earbuds are not expected to outperform the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, buyers can expect to get a well-rounded package at an affordable price. You can also expect Samsung to improve the ANC performance, audio tuning and battery life.

(Hero and Featured Image Credits: Courtesy Samsung / Representational Images)