Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 rumours: Next premium foldable to feature a wrinkle-free display

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 turned out to be one of the best foldable smartphones to go official last year. The device strikes a perfect balance between battery life, software, cameras, and build quality.

However, there's still ample room for improvement. In a bid to compete with new foldable phones from Chinese brands, Samsung will have to fix a major design flaw.

Much to the delight of Samsung fans, the Korean tech giant is doing just that with its next foldable phone dubbed the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

Korean publication Naver has shed some light on the Galaxy Z Fold 5's improved design language ahead of an official announcement. According to the report, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will sport a waterdrop-shaped hinge.

As a result, Galaxy Z Fold 5 users will be able to fold the device completely flat. Notably, users won't notice any gap between the two halves of the device in the folded form.

Aside from this, the inner screen of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will have a barely visible crease. Galaxy Z Fold users have been waiting for this advancement with bated breath.

Samsung will not follow in the footsteps of the Chinese smartphone firms and ditch the IPX8 rating for water resistance. To recap, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 adopted a new hinge mechanism, but it still did not enable the device to close completely flat.

Xiaomi and Huawei, on the other hand, introduced foldable phones with waterdrop hinges. These unique hinges allow the device to close completely flat. Moreover, it also reduces the visibility of the seam.

However, Samsung reportedly did not adopt the same mechanism since it required the company to ditch the IPX8 waterproofing feature. Now, it looks like the situation has changed.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is expected to boast a nearly perfect flat folding design, coupled with water resistance. On the downside, the device will not come with dust resistance.

According to the report, Samsung is referring to its new hinge design as "dumbbell." The company reportedly patented this design in 2016 but didn't adopt it for unknown reasons.

This dumbbell-shaped hinge is likely to improve the screen's durability as well. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 users will be able to effortlessly fold and unfold the device over its lifetime.