The Galaxy Z Fold 4 was one of the best folding smartphones of 2022, and many are expecting Samsung to deliver yet another winner with its successor this year. The company is expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 5 later this month, and multiple leaks over the past few weeks have already revealed quite a bit about it, including its key specifications. Now, new hands-on images have revealed a key design upgrade that could potentially make the Z Fold 5 way more desirable than its predecessor.
Images posted on Twitter by tipster @AhmedQwaider888 have seemingly revealed that the biggest differentiator between the Fold 4 and the Fold 5 in terms of their design could be the latter's hinge. While the tweet has since been deleted, the images were saved for posterity by Android Police, and they seem to show that the new hinge will close almost completely flat when the phone is folded up.
If the images are authentic, it could mean a massive improvement with the upcoming device when compared to the Z Fold 4 and earlier foldables, which have a considerable gap in between when folded up. It will be interesting to see if Samsung will use a similar hinge with the Z Flip 5 as well, which could bring some much-needed design improvements to that device as well. However, while the reduced gap is definitely welcome, it's unclear whether this will help reduce the on-screen crease that has long been one of the major issues with foldable smartphones.
Meanwhile, it's not all good news for the Galaxy Z Fold 5. According to prolific tipster Ice Universe, the device may not come with an official IP58 rating for dust and water resistance. This will be highly disappointing for potential buyers, as earlier rumors suggested that both the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 will be IP58 dust- and water-resistant. Either way, the upcoming foldables are still shaping up to be among the best premium devices this year, so it will be interesting to see how they will compete with the likes of the Pixel Fold and the upcoming OnePlus V Fold in the coming months.