Samsung’s foldable phones are among the best you can buy, but they all suffer from a nasty problem. When the device is fully unfolded, there is a visible crease in the middle where the hinge mechanism resides.
That could change with Samsung’s next-generation foldable flagship, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. , with no noticeable gap between the halves when folded.
New hinge, new look.
Credit: Korean Intellectual Property Office via Naver
Samsung actually patented a waterdrop hinge back in 2016, and it looks like it’s finally ready to apply it to one of the company’s foldable smartphones.
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If this report is correct, Samsung wouldn’t be the first to include such a hinge on a flip phone. The Motorola Razr 2022, for example, has a similar design, with very few creases when unfolded. But Samsung sells more foldable phones than any other company, so this is a big deal (if you like a perfectly flat display).
The report doesn’t say anything about Samsung’s other foldable devices, but it’s reasonable to expect the company to eventually integrate waterdrop displays into all its foldable phones.
However, it will be quite some time before we get the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. Its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Fold 4, launched in August 2022, so the new version will likely launch in a similar timeframe this year.