Meet the Galaxy Z Flip: Samsung's answer to the Motorola Razr 2019
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Samsung is mixing things up with its second foldable smartphone. Rather than a direct successor to the Galaxy Fold, the South Korean manufacturer has gone with a clamshell design similar to the new Motorola Razr we saw 2019. We now know what it looks like.
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The designed was been leaked by, who else but, Evan Blass on Twitter. The notorious Samsung insider just tweeted a picture of the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Check it out.
Further details have leaked courtesy of WinFuture. The display appears to be a 6.7-inch panel that is made of ultra-thin glass, not plastic. It's in a 22:9 format and has a resolution of 2636 x 1080 pixels. It's also an Infinity-O display, with a hole punched out for the selfie camera. There is a tiny second display on the outside of the phone, which is just a 1.06-inch screen seemingly for displaying the time and maybe a phone number when the Galaxy Z Flip rings.
Under the hood is the current Snapdragon 855+ SoC from Qualcomm. That makes it more powerful the rival Motorola Razr 2019, which features a Snapdragon 710. There's a dual camera on the back, with two 12-megapixel sensors and we're hearing that there is also autofocus.
The battery is a 3,300 mAh cell and can be charged by a 15W USB-C charger. Wireless charging is also supported up to 9W. The whole phone weighs 183 grams.
This article was updated on 29/01 at 14:006. The content below this line is older and therefore may be outdated. We kept it in to give you a broader picture of all of the Galaxy Z Flip leaks as they emerged.
What about an S-Pen with that?
Speculation about a new generation of foldable smartphones from Samsung is fuelled by new information about the market launch of the Galaxy Fold 2. According to one report, the improved clamshell phone should be released shortly and come with an S-Pen.
I just got word that Samsung will likely be launching the true Galaxy Fold successor in Q2 of this year.
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) 24. Januar 2020
If I've conglomerates all the different reports correctly, it should have an 8" display, 108MP camera, ultra thin glass, SPen, Snapdragon 865 and 5G.
This is what the always well-informed leaker Max Weinbach from XDA Developers tweeted over the weekend. The revised Galaxy Fold will be officially presented in the second quarter of this year, between April and June. Weinbach also provides new information on the technical specs in his Tweet:
- Galaxy Fold 2
- 8-inch display
- 108 Megapixel camera
- "ultra-thin glass"
- S-Pen
- Snapdragon 865
- 5G
The "ultra-thin glass" feature is said to be a new, innovative material that will enable Samsung to produce a more stable flexible display for the new generation Galaxy Fold. Besides the 108-megapixel camera, the mention of S-Pen stands out. So far, only Samsung's successful Galaxy Note series is equipped with a stylus that can be stowed away in the case of the device.
Galaxy Fold: Several models for 2020
The Galaxy Fold 2 is rumored to be just one of several new foldable Samsung phones that Koreans plan to launch in 2020. For example, images of the "Galaxy Bloom" are circulating on the Internet - a smartphone that, like the Motorola Razr 2019, folds upwards and is significantly smaller than the Galaxy Fold.
In addition to the "Galaxy Bloom", a "Galaxy Z Flip" is also circulating on the net. However, both names are supposed to stand for the same device, whereby "Flip" actually makes a lot of sense for a smartphone that folds upright. The term "Bloom", on the other hand, is supposed to allude to the opening of a flower. Whether Galaxy Fold 2, Galaxy Bloom or Galaxy Z Flip: We are eagerly awaiting the foldable novelties of Samsung in 2020 and will probably learn more details about the new smartphone generation from Samsung at the Samsung Unpacked Event at the MWC 2020 in Barcelona at the end of February.
@Samsung_News_ @MaxWinebach @UniverseIce
— Sleepy Kuma (@Kuma_Sleepy) 9. Januar 2020
Galaxy S20, Galaxy Bloom(UTG)https://t.co/p1fdV4DdfU pic.twitter.com/OI36enioHw
Samsung Galaxy Fold 2: a new shell design
Following its launch in the USA, the Galaxy Fold was recently made available for purchase on the European market. Samsung's first and intriguing foldable smartphone has had some difficult days but the South Korean brand does not waste time and is preparing to release its successor known under the code name Bloom.
The Galaxy Fold 2 should feature a new shell design (suggested by the brand itself during the Samsung Developer Conference 2019 last October) in the style of the Razr 2019 that leaves room for two displays: a main 8.1-inch and a smaller external one dedicated to notifications and other basic information such as battery life and the time.
And now we can, in part, put aside the conditionals because the smartphone was photographed in China. As you can see from the photos below, the design stands out considerably from that of the first generation and takes up what was anticipated by previous rumors.
The one in the photo could be a prototype and the final model may not completely correspond to the one we see on the market. The vertical closure should be a confirmation though. In the images, you can see on the outside a small screen for notifications and a dual camera with LED flash. In the main screen, there is a camera integrated into the display in a small central hole while along the lower edge is the speaker grid and the USB-C port. Looks familiar, doesn't it?
In Chinese social media, Samsung's next-generation Galaxy Fold phone was leaked.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) December 19, 2019
Source: @ 王 奔 宏 pic.twitter.com/f69FAbYGxX
Such a design should allow you to put your smartphone in your pocket and take advantage of a larger display only when needed. Something that so many users seem to want and the enthusiasm around the Motorola Razr 2019 seems to suggest it.
Samsung seems to have applied for the registration of the trademark Hideaway Hinge, which can be translated as a concealed hinge, at the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office). This hinge could be the one integrated into the Galaxy Fold 2, even if it is not possible to confirm it at the moment.
The display, and easily it could be damaged, was one of the main criticism of the first Galaxy Fold. The problem with having a flexible screen is that you have to come up with a solution other than glass. After all, glass doesn't really bend, right? Well, according to a report in Korean media today, glass does bend!
News has surfaced that Samsung has struck a deal with local manufacturer, Dolnsys, to provide a bendable cover glass exclusively for the Galaxy Fold 2. The ultrathin, ultradurable glass panel would solve a lot of the issues that the first Fold has, ultimately causing it to be delayed for several months. The current polyimide (PI) display, supplied by Japanese firm Sumitomo, would therefore be ditched.
Apparently, the structure of glass is not as rigid once you get down to 100 micrometers thin, and Dolnsys is claimed to have developed tempered glass that is just 30 micrometers thick. According to the reports, Samsung is throwing investment at Dolnsys in order to ramp up production so that enough of these screens can be manufactured in time for the release of the Galaxy Fold 2.
Galaxy Fold 2: when will it launch and at what price?
Before we can enjoy the new Galaxy Fold 2 there will not be too long a wait (unless there's an unexpected delay, of course!). The new South Korean foldable could be released already in early 2020 (the Mobile World Congress could be the right opportunity to make it official on the international market) and to suggest it and the African department of the brand itself that has made public the support page for the foldable known by the code SM-F700F.
Interesting are the indiscretions of the price, decidedly lower than the first generation. According to the Korean Herald, the Galaxy Fold 2 should cost about 1,000,000KRW (Korean Won), which on the international market should result in about $1,000 - essentially half of what the first one cost.
Other than that, little else is known about the Galaxy Fold 2. I wouldn't expect to have to wait much longer than next spring before we see some kind of official reveal from Samsung though. Such is the smartphone market these days, new devices tend to be launched every six months from the big boys, and foldables will probably follow that schedule too once they get up and running. The date of February 14, 2020, is being mentioned in some circles.
What do you think about the idea of having bendable glass rather than polyimide on a foldable phone's display? Let us know in the comments below.
Some of the images in this article show the original Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Via: PhoneArena Source: Twitter
I had the original Razr cheap junk, went through 3 in one year. The new flip phone with soft flexible displays will not last they are just gimmicks and costly gimmicks at that. The flip died for good reasons let it rest in peace. Shows just how stagnate the phone industry is they can not come up with new ideas, so they dig up old ones
I usually don't buy any 1st year product especially a flip phone. I'd rather wait for the kinks to be worked out. But the specs look really nice. I would take this over the moto razor which specs aren't blowing me over!
Its awesome glass but it is much expensive, i cant afford
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Admin
Dec 19, 2019 Link to commentStill expensive. Just wondering if it will be also so prone to screen breaks
That's something new. Will see, hope that Samsung created a really good device
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Admin
Nov 12, 2019 Link to commentWhy did they put on the market a device that was not ready in the first place (and who forked out money to buy it) ? It is not just Samsung but it seems a widespread trend. Consumers pay for the development.
Have to see how durable it is
So this confirms my reluctance to purchase early versions of a totally new product.
Yes I'm all for tech progression but I'm not going to waste money just to appear relevant.
The Fold is a great progression but in reality it is version 7 and above that's closer to the desired product.
I understand that tech manufacturers have always drip fed devices with incremental upgrades. It is seen as a achievement if designers can bring a product to market over a 5 or 10 year timeline.
Apple and Samsung are masters at making a product stretching.
Apple though have been exceptionally good with the IPhone, very minimal annual changes branded and tarted up as another must have.
Samsung has had rounded edge to edge screen technologies for years - they could have easily brought out infinity display years ago, but no each year we get the same device but with a extra few millimetres of viewable screen.
Gotta keep on buying...
🖖
so right.