There have been rumors recently that Samsung is planning an early launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. Another report has now added fuel to these rumors. Korean publication The Elec reported today that the company wants to bring the new foldables to the market earlier than usual due to the sluggish economic condition.
According to the new report, Samsung is aiming to launch the 2023 foldable duo in late July, with sales beginning in the first half of August. That’s about 2-3 weeks earlier than the usual schedule. The plan is to give the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 enough time in the market in the third quarter of the year (July-September period). It would help the company post healthy earnings in the quarter.
Samsung’s smartphone division usually performs low in the second quarter of every year. However, the expectations for Q2 2023 are far lower than normal due to the current economic situation. And with industry analysts expecting the trend to continue in the second half of the year as well, a late Q3 launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 could mean two consecutive quarters of sluggish performance. Samsung wants to avoid that.
However, to bring the new foldables into the market early, Samsung reportedly needs to secure the reliability of the duo by the end of this month. Whether the company manages to pull it off, only time will tell. It’s switching to a new type of hinge this year (waterdrop hinge) to make the devices thinner and lighter. So it may have plenty of work to do. We should hear more about the next-gen Galaxy foldables in the coming weeks.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 may arrive earlier than usual
Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 on August 10 last year. The 2021 and 2020 foldables also debuted in the same month — August 11 and August 5, respectively. Sales began in late August (mid-September for 2020’s Galaxy Z Fold 2). However, rumors have it that the company will release the 2023 models about a couple of weeks earlier than usual.
We first heard about this possibility less than two weeks ago. It was revealed that Samsung is planning to begin mass production of hinges for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 early in June. Normally, hinges entered mass production in late June. Since the company is switching to a new type of hinge this year, it could have started production early to ensure proper testing before assembling the devices.
However, there have been at least three separate reports since stating that Samsung could launch the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 earlier than usual. All of them are hinting at a late July unveiling of the new foldables.
The Korean firm is also said to be mulling over holding the launch event in its homeland. Samsung usually holds major Galaxy Unpacked events in the USA. It remains to be seen whether these reports turn out to be accurate.
2023-05-03 15:08:25