14.2 million foldable phones were sold in 2022, and Samsung’s bendable handsets accounted for 80 percent or nearly 12 million of them. In contrast, 8 million bendable handsets were shipped in 2021, with Samsung making up 87 percent of the market. The company is steadily losing market share to Chines rivals, and if a new Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumor is to be believed, Samsung isn’t trying all that hard to maintain its dominant position.
It’s looking increasingly likely that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will basically be a Fold 4 with a new chip and new hinge structure. The device is rumored to have the same 7.6 inches inner and 6.2 inches outer screens as its predecessor, though it be might a little taller and less wide. A recent rumor said that Samsung has abandoned plans to include a dedicated slot for the S Pen slot due to technological hurdles.
One rumor said that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 would sport a 108MP camera but venerated leaker Ice Universe has put that rumor to rest.
He says that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will use the same camera as the Fold 4, meaning we can expect it to have a 50MP main camera. Ice explains that it’s not possible for Samsung to use a camera like the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s ISOCELL HP2 200MP sensor, presumably because the 1/1.3 inches sensor is too big for a foldable phone.
The ISOCELL GN3 50MP sensor is 1/1.57 inches, which makes it more suitable for bendable phones as they need to have a thinner profile than conventional phones.
An earlier report from an unestablished source had said that the phone could swap out the 10MP 3x telephoto shooter for a 64MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. This rumor has not been substantiated by any credible source.
At $1799.99, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a very pricey device, so it’s natural to expect a flagship-level camera, and while the cameras are decent, they aren’t at the same level as top camera phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, and Google Pixel 7 Pro.
So even though a 50MP sensor might not be a deal breaker for hardcore Samsung fans, especially considering that the Fold 5 will likely flaunt the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a dumbbell hinge for a creaseless screen, it could make some buyers switch to current and upcoming devices with better camera specs, such as the rumored Google Pixel Fold and Honor Magic Vs.
