Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 may finally solve this folding issue

Samsung's found a way to make the creasing less obvious without affecting the phone's water resistance

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung’s best foldable phones still suffer from a minor niggle: the visible crease between the two halves of the display, which is particularly visible on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4. But a new report says that Samsung has found a way to make the crease much less obvious.

According to the tipster Ice Universe, as reported by 9to5google.com, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 will use a different kind of hinge: the “droplet” style of hinge that rivals such as the Oppo Find N2 and Motorola use. Samsung calls it the “dumbbell”, apparently, but it’s the same basic principle.

Droplet like it’s hot

The difference between the current Galaxy hinge in the Z Fold / Z Flip 4 and the droplet/dumbbell hinge in rival devices is that the latter has a slightly lesser curve radius, which means there’s less of a crease when it’s unfolded.

The reason Samsung doesn’t use this design already is apparently due to water resistance, which Samsung was finding difficult to implement in the droplet design. That issue has reportedly been addressed, so the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will have the same water resistance as its predecessors.

We’re not expecting to see the new design revealed any time soon: the Galaxy Z Fold 5 launch date isn’t expected before August 2023. For now, Samsung’s phone focus is on the Samsung Galaxy S23 range, which will be officially unveiled on 1 February.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).