Samsung officially announced the Galaxy Z Flip 5G this morning, and as its name suggests, the device packs the next-generation network support the original missed out on.
The first Galaxy Z Flip used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset, a sliver of computing silicon that was about a year old when Samsung squeezed it into its second foldable. We didn’t have any issues with how the chipset’s octa-core processor ran, but it was a generation older than what we got in the Galaxy S20 series and couldn’t play nice with 5G networks not exactly a great look for a $1,380 phone. The new, $1,450 Z Flip 5G remedies that by using the Snapdragon 865 Plus chipset instead, making this new model at least marginally faster than the S20s we got earlier this year.
Samsung hasn’t confirmed if it will continue to sell the original Z Flip alongside the 5G model. AT&T and T-Mobile will be selling the phone starting on August 7th, alongside Amazon. For now at least, that means Samsung is focused on getting the Z Flip 5G into the hands of customers connecting to more widely available sub-6 5G networks, rather than the hyper-local mmWave deployments carriers like Verizon initially focused on. It’s worth noting though that the Snapdragon 865+ actually plays nice with both kinds of 5G networks, so it seems the only things stopping a new Z Flip from showing up on Verizon store shelves are some handshakes and signed agreements.
Samsung also revealed that the Galaxy Z Flip 5G will be available in two new colors: Mystic Gray and that gorgeous Mystic Bronze that we’ve seen in leaked images. Other than the new colors and switch to the Snapdragon 865+, Samsung doesn’t appear to have made any other significant [physical] changes to the smartphone.
However, one other big change that comes with the Galaxy Z Flip 5G is with regards to pricing. While the original smartphone debuted at $1,380, the Galaxy Z Flip 5G is priced $70 higher at $1,450. That’s quite a lot of money to lay down for a 5G smartphone, but the folding display definitely comes with a pricing premium compared to more traditional smartphones with fixed glass displays.
Tae-moon Roh, president and head of Samsung’s mobile communications business, wrote in a recent blog post that the company plans to announce “five new power devices” during the streamed event. The current list of leaks either confirms or strongly suggests that some Galaxy Notes, a Galaxy Watch, some bean-shaped earbuds and a new Galaxy Tab to take on the iPad Pro will be among the devices Samsung reveals on August 5th.
