Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will reportedly be much thinner with new hinge design

Ben Schoon | Feb 24 2023 - 6:55 am PT

It’s been known for a little while now that Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be launching with a brand-new hinge design, and it seems that new design will lead to a drastically thinner folding smartphone, as Samsung has been able to cut down on the thickness considerably.

Samsung’s past few iterations of the Galaxy Fold have left us with moderately thick smartphones. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 measures around 14mm at its thinnest point, but is nearly 16mm at its thickest point. With most smartphones being 7-9mm in thickness, that means someone upgrading to a Fold is looking at a device nearly twice as thick.

But with the new “waterdrop” hinge design set to debut in Galaxy Z Fold 5, Samsung has apparently reduced the thickness of its foldable.

Ice Universe says on Weibo that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will be in the range of 13mm when closed. That’s quite the cut from the 16mm thickness of the Fold 4 at the point of its hinge, and what’s especially important to remember is that the measurement applies to the whole phone, rather than seeing it get thicker as it gets closer to the hinge. That’s because Samsung’s new hinge also does away with the gap present on prior models.

Oppo’s Find N2 has the same waterdrop hinge, but measures just over 16mm when closed up. But others, such as Xiaomi, have managed to craft thinner foldables, with the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 measuring a mere 11.2mm when closed up. Samsung won’t be breaking any new ground, but it will be much more in line with the competition with this change.

Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 5 this summer alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Tab S9, and Galaxy Watch 6. Last year, Samsung launched its foldables in August, so a similar timeline is expected this time around.