Rumor has it that Samsung’s next foldable models are starting to take shape. According to a reputable leaker, the next Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 will be the first models to feature a new teardrop hinge while also being waterproof.
The design of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 hinge leaves a fairly visible mark on the screen, unlike its competitors. // Source: Frandroid
It’s a drop in the sea of rumours, but it confirms the previous ones. Friday February 24th, the treat ice universe announced on its Twitter account that the new hinges of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 foldable smartphones are confirmed. A design in the shape of a “drop of water” that imitates its competitors while solving its main flaw: the loss of water resistance.
Confirmation: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and Flip5 use waterdrop hinges and support IPX8 waterproof.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 24, 2023
Fewer screen creases
This change would be big, because Samsung has been using a notorious folding technique since its first foldable model in 2019: Closing the smartphone leaves a fairly visible and touch-sensitive mark on the screen. However, a few months later, the American brand Motorola announced its first foldable Razr 2019 with a hinge that marked the screen much less. It’s the same design Samsung could adopt today.
The sketch of the teardrop design patent submitted by Samsung in 2016. // Source: Samsung via Naver
In practice, this hinge design allows the screen to flex like a teardrop and puts less pressure on the flex. This almost completely reduces the gap between the two halves of the smartphone when folded, unlike the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, preventing too much dust from getting into that gap once it’s in your pocket.
Catch up with competitors
Welcome news, because Samsung is the last foldable smartphone manufacturer that has not adopted this mechanism. If the South Korean manufacturer has long been one of the few to launch foldable smartphones, the arrival of these new players has seen it lose part of that market.
Recently, both the Motorola Razr 2022 and the Oppo Find N2 Flip have opted for the teardrop hinge. A detail that faltered in our comparison between this Oppo smartphone and the latest Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
A project in the pipeline since 2016
However, Samsung has been considering adopting this design since 2016, according to a patent application filed this year. But according to the first rumors about a hinge change, already passed on by Ice Universe in January 2023, Samsung was waiting to find a way to make this design waterproof (neither the Find N2 nor the Razr 2022 offer that security). Now, according to this new leak from Friday 24th February, that seems to be the case.
Samsung Electronics plans to apply the “Droplet” hinge structure to the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Samsung calls it a “dumbbell” hinge internally. Waterdrop hinge + waterproof is finally here.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) January 15, 2023
However, despite the spread of information pointing in that direction, this rumor remains a rumor and may soon be denied. Doubts about a stylus slot in the next Galaxy Z Fold 5 were also contradicted by the ET News media a few days earlier. One of the reasons given would be lack of space due to… a hinge change. We can’t have everything.
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