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Samsung wants the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to come with a lighter body, better cameras, and S Pen slot

By Adrian Diaconescu

Published: Nov 02, 2022, 6:56 AM

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Samsung wants the Galaxy Z Fold 5 to come with a lighter body, better cameras, and S Pen slot

If you think the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is great (because it totally is) and the Z Flip 4 pretty good in its own right (which is also undeniably true), odds are you will absolutely love what the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 bring to the table next year... if Samsung succeeds in all its endeavors.

While the latest report from TheElec over in Korea based on inside sources familiar with Samsung's foldable development plans doesn't mention any future devices by name, it feels safe to assume that the world's largest smartphone manufacturer will be trying hard to incorporate a bunch of potentially game-changing technologies and features into 2023's Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Although some of the things the company attempted to get done in time for this year's Z Fold 4 release might not make their way to market with the Z Fold 5 either, at least a couple of big upgrades have every chance of materializing next fall.

The foldable device of your dreams is likely not that far on the horizon

After pulling the Galaxy Note plug (most likely for good) and making the S Pen a non-optional Galaxy S22 Ultra companion, Samsung is unsurprisingly aiming to add a stylus silo to the design of its most advanced foldables as well... eventually.

The Z Fold 4 comes with a (separately sold) S Pen and no built-in stylus silo.

Because the Galaxy Z Fold 4 was "initially" meant to include a dedicated S Pen slot (and, of course, the stylus itself as standard), its sequel is extremely likely to make this change happen. The obvious problem is that any extra component or built-in accessory is all but guaranteed to add heft to a mobile device or at least make it incredibly hard to retain (let alone improve) battery capacity without increasing the overall weight.

Samsung just so happens to want to reduce both the weight and thickness of its next-gen foldables, which might not be possible if a "designated" S Pen slot is also in the pipeline.

What's definitely possible is to put "more high-end camera modules" on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 compared to the 50 + 10 + 12MP triple shooter system on the back of the Z Fold 4, which was in turn a solid improvement over the 12 + 12 + 12MP rear-facing cams of the Z Fold 3.

Once again, today's report doesn't go into any detail, but because we like to dream big, we'll assume Samsung's ambitious plan (at least for the time being) is to put the same potentially breathtaking 200MP primary snapper on both the Galaxy S23 Ultra and Z Fold 5. Now something like that could certainly help foldables break into the mainstream!

Huge market growth ahead

Speaking of the mainstream tech scene, it's interesting to point out that foldables make up a microscopic 1 percent of the total smartphone market right now, a number that is however expected to continue growing at an unrivaled pace over the next few years.

Foldables might soon become the main growth driver of the entire smartphone market.

With current users showing "high satisfaction" levels and more and more people looking to join the fledgling segment, Samsung only has one rival to fear in its mission to consolidate a crushing early domination of the global market.

We're talking about Apple rather than Huawei, Xiaomi, or Motorola, mind you, even though the expectation is that the first foldable iPhone is still several years away, with a rookie iPad Fold effort likely to see daylight at some point in 2024.

That obviously doesn't sound like a massive threat to the wide-scale popularity of the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip handset lineups in the short (or even long) term, which allows Samsung to remain optimistic about capitalizing on the 80 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of the overall foldable segment through at least 2025. In other words, the company expects to sell a boatload of foldables in the next three years (and possibly beyond).

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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.