Galaxy Z Fold 5 could be thicker and heavier and that's actually good news
Samsung has kind of confirmed that the Galaxy S23 range will be revealed on February 1 and leaks have revealed pretty much everything about the phones, so we can expect Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 rumors to pick up pace and a beefy report has already emerged about the former.
Vietnamese website The Pixel (via GizmoChina) claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be powered by a 4nm Qualcomm chip called Snapdragon 985 5G. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is Qualcomm's latest chip and if last year is any guide, the Fold 5 will be fueled by a boosted version of the 8 Gen 2.
Sothe Snapdragon 985 name doesn't make sense and the outlet theorizes that it could be a test version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
The report also claims that the Z Fold 5 has slightly increased in thickness from 6.3mm to 6.5mm and its weight has increased from an already hefty 263 grams to 275 grams. While this may sound disappointing, the thickness increase could be attributed to making space for the S Pen slot. Although the Fold 4 supports Samsung's stylus, it doesn't have a silo for storing the Pen and most users will surely appreciate having a dedicated slot.
As for the increased weight, it could be that Samsung is planning to equip the Fold 5 with a bigger battery to better compete with the Oppo Find N2, but we are just speculating here.
The report seems to link the weight increase to camera sensors, which implies that the phone will have new and presumably bigger sensors. An earlier report had said that the 10MP front-facing camera would be swapped out for a 12MP snapper. Samsung upgraded the main and telephoto cameras just last year so we doubt that the Fold 5 will get new rear sensors.
That said, the aforementioned Oppo Find N2 has better cameras than the Fold 4, and Google is expected to announce its first foldable phone around the same time as the Fold 5, and since Google's Pixel phones are known for their cameras, Samsung might have decided to equip the Fold 5 with new cameras.
This also aligns with an earlier report that said Samsung wanted to improve the cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold 5. That report also said that the phone would have a less prominent crease.
Samsung makes one of the best foldable phones around but the competition is heating up so the company needs to deliver more than just iterative changes to maintain its lead and it looks like the company is willing to go the extra mile to ensure this.
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