Samsung’s first-ever virtual Unpacked event is shaping up to be an incredibly jam-packed affair, which might explain why the company decided to unveil one of its new products a little early. After all, the Galaxy Z Flip 5G is nowhere near as exciting as the impending Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Note 20 Ultra or even the Galaxy Buds Live and 5G-enabled Galaxy Tab S7+.
But if you’re tempted to buy a foldable handset and don’t expect to be able to afford the gorgeous Galaxy Fold sequel with minimal bezels and a huge 120Hz primary display in tow, choosing the 5G-supporting Z Flip over its 4G LTE-only predecessor seems like a no-brainer.
In addition to the obvious connectivity upgrade, which allows you to take advantage of AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint’s low and mid-band 5G technology but not Verizon’s insanely fast mmWave-based Ultra Wideband network, Samsung’s sophomore modern flippy effort also has a hot new Snapdragon 865 Plus SoC going for it.
That’s up from the Snapdragon 855+ chipset powering the first-gen Z Flip, which should enable a pretty significant improvement in raw speed. That brings us to quite possibly the best thing about the Galaxy Z Flip 5G. Namely, the $1,450 recommended price point, which is obviously not low by conventional smartphone standards, barely exceeding however the $1,380 MSRP of the Z Flip LTE.
Up for pre-order starting today on its manufacturer’s official US website in an unlocked variant, the 5G-enabled Galaxy Z Flip can also be massively discounted with the right trade-in. A fully functional Samsung Galaxy Note 10 or Note 10+, as well as an iPhone 11 Pro or 11 Pro Max, for instance, will help you shave a whopping $650 off the aforementioned list price of the shiny new foldable device in your choice of Mystic Bronze or Mystic Gray paint jobs.
Other phones, like the Galaxy Note 9, S10, and S10+ or Apple’s iPhone 11, XS, and XS Max can reduce the Galaxy Z Flip 5G MSRP by a cool $550 of their own, and yes, Samsung will let you save quite a bit of money even if you trade in one of these handsets (as well as many others) with a cracked screen.
For the time being, the Z Flip 5G is only available directly from Samsung ahead of actual shipments “by August 7”, but Best Buy, Amazon, AT&T, and T-Mobile should join the company relatively soon in selling this versatile and compact Snapdragon 865+ powerhouse with 6.7 and 1.1-inch screens, 256 gigs of internal storage space, an 8GB RAM count, 3,300mAh battery capacity, two 12MP rear-facing cameras, and a single 10MP selfie shooter.
