[ad_1]
2020 saw the arrival of the first Galaxy Z Flip from Samsung and, with it, what feels like the true dawning of the modern folding (and flipping) smartphone age. The debut device scored a 4.5 stars in our Galaxy Z Flip review. So, what will the pride of South Korea do to add that last half-star when the next entry arrives?
We take a look at all the news and rumours surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 2.
When will the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 2 be released?
While Samsung has yet to confirm that the Galaxy Z Flip 2 even exists, there are rumblings of a later-than-expected launch.
The original Galaxy Z Flip was announced on 14 February 2020 at the first Samsung Unpacked event of the year. It was accompanying other flagships such as the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S20 Ultra and the Galaxy Buds+.
Contrary to initial assumptions that the 2021 follow-up would arrive alongside the heavily-rumoured Galaxy S21 range (and possibly the new Galaxy Buds Beyond), according to Korean news site, The Elec, the Flip 2 is now thought to be launching separately, in Q2 of 2021.
According to sources familiar with the matter, The Elec states that Samsung doesn’t want two premium devices at similarly high price points (the Flip 2 and the Galaxy S21 Ultra) cannibalising sales from one another.
Instead, by moving the S21 line’s launch to earlier in the year (January), the Flip 2 won’t have to compete when it launches in the second quarter of 2021, potentially sometime in March.
Sorry Z Flip fans, hearing the Z Flip 2 launch is being moved back to the summer…
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss)
November 3, 2020
This follows on from previous rumblings of an adjusted release schedule, as highlighted by tipster Ross Young, a chap with 25 years’ experience in the display industry, who had previously posted about the Flip 2’s potential delay, albeit making reference to Summer, far later than these more recent reports suggest.
How much will the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 2 cost?
Much like the phone’s potential release, on other more recent leak has given us the first potential indication of the phone’s price tag.
Known tipster Ice Universe posted a few details surrounding the next Z Flip on Chinese social media site, Weibo. The post makes reference to a device called the “Galaxy Z Flip3”, thought to be the true name of the next entry in Samsung’s foldable line, with the current Galaxy Z Flip 5G having served as a pseudo-second generation handset of sorts.
In their post, Ice Universe also states that this device will be “cheaper” (it’s presumed) than its predecessors. The original Galaxy Z Flip cost £1,300/$1,380 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G moved up to £1,399/$1449.
While we’re not expecting any massive reduction in cost, especially if 5G is now part of the Flip line’s equation by default, Ice Universe’s post does at least offer some hope that the next entry won’t be quite as eye-wateringly expensive as Samsung’s current foldables.
What new features will Samsung bring to the Galaxy Z Flip 2?
Rumours about improved specs are a bit thin on the ground at the time of writing. There are, at least, a few things that seem to present themselves as obvious choices for Samsung.
That same Weibo post from Ice Universe also makes mention of a couple of potential hardware details; namely a 120Hz high refresh rate display and a narrower frame than the existing Flip entries.
Beyond this, we’re left with suspicions, based on its predecessors and the current state of the smartphone market.
The Galaxy Flip Z sported a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor, so we’d suspect this would be upgraded to the current flagship silicon, which will be the expected Snapdragon 875 or at least to the current Snapdragon 865+ – as on the Z Flip 5G.
Another area that’s been addressed across the tech spectrum is the 1.1in display on the outside of the device. While this provides a handy reference for the time, date, battery levels and offers basic touch control for music playback, a larger panel would make the feature much more usable.
4G was acceptable in 2020, as the technology was still establishing itself, but for a premium device in 2021 is now seems to be table stakes. With that in mind, we think Samsung will opt to include the feature as standard, rather than through a separate device as it did with the Galaxy Z Flip 5G.
T3 reported on a young Vietnamese tipster by the name of Chun who posted the following tweet that outlined ‘leaked’ specs for the Galaxy Z Flip 2:
As of now (September 2020)100% confident:- bigger outer display- new UTG – Upgraded hinge- bigger batteryA bit concerned:- high refresh rate displayUnconfirmed:- specs (screen size, chipset, cam)- design#ZFlip2
— Chun (@chunvn8888)
September 16, 2020
This suggests that Samsung will indeed increase the outer panel size, improve the casing itself along with the stiff hinge, plus a larger battery will make it a more robust option when away from power sources.
Obviously, this is all unconfirmed, so we’ll keep checking on news and leaks and report them back here as more about the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 2 comes to light. Until then, take a look at our guide to the best new phones coming in 2021 to see what else might be the breakthrough device in the year ahead.
Related articles for further reading
[ad_2]
Source link