The Galaxy Z Flip 5 Retro is now official: 2003 vibes bloom on 2023 technology

Never-ending trending – that’s how Samsung is presenting a new collectible bijou: the Galaxy Z Flip 5 Retro.

It’s now official and will be available for purchase in limited quantities from November 1 in South Korea, the UK, Germany, Spain and Australia; in France, people could get it on November 2 and onwards – again, the stock is limited, so don’t expect it to stick for sale for too long. In theory, you could expect it to hit eBay at some point later in time, but resellers of collectibles are not known for going easy on your wallet.

The rare Galaxy Z Flip 5 Retro edition made headlines recently, as unofficial renders surfaced. While they were okay, here are some proper pictures from Samsung:



There’s no denying that this Z Flip 5 Retro edition looks cooler than cool.

The Retro branding is not an accidental one at all. This edition of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 pays homage to a legacy of innovation that goes back 20 years and more specifically – to the legendary SGH-E700 from 2003. Two decades of technical advancement are celebrated by combining 2003 pre-smartphone vibes with 2023 top-notch technology.

Where the inspiration came from

Back in 2003, the SGH-E700 was nothing short of a groundbreaking phone that was destined to become a legend on its own. Samsung drew attention worldwide with a technical innovation – this was the Korean giant’s first phone to feature a built-in antenna.

A Norwegian newspaper called it “the Mercedes Benz of cell phones”, and indeed phone users that are above a certain age remember the SGH-E700 well. You can bet money most of them wouldn’t be able to tell you what its model name is, but they would recognize it in an instant, adding either “I had it” or “I wish I had it”.

The SGH-E700 played a pivotal role in advancing Samsung’s position in the mobile phone industry at a time when the phone market was dominated by Nokia.

On a side note, 20 years ago Samsung really did put some bold phones out there – like the MP3 phone SPH-M2500 in 1999, the watch phone SPH-WP10, the TV phone SCH-M220 and the camera phone SCH-V200.

What’s in common?

The Galaxy Z Flip 5 Retro implements various distinctive features of the SGH-E700, such as the unforgettable combination of indigo blue and silver colors, a UX design reinterpretation of 2000s pixel graphics and an exclusive animation on the Flex Screen that portrays a cityscape with a touch of nostalgia.

What’s in the box and how to get one?

This collectible package includes three Flipsuit cards featuring logos from different eras of Samsung’s history, a Flipsuit case and a collector card engraved with a unique serial number that will add to the product’s collectible value for purchasing customers.



The Galaxy Z Flip 5 Retro is available for purchase exclusively through Samsung’s official website: Samsung.com.