The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s price could be its fatal flaw

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series has been a big seller for Samsung, and these phones are reportedly a lot more popular than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold line. There’s one obvious reason for that – the price, and for this reason the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 might struggle a bit.

That’s because according to Greek site Tech Maniacs, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will start at €1,299 (around $1,415 / £1,110 / AU$2,120). That apparently gets you a version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and for reference the site claims that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 in the same configuration cost €150 (roughly $165 / £130 / AU$245) less in Greece.

Now, price conversions are never entirely accurate, but that’s a substantial uplift in the Greek starting price, and that’s likely to be reflected elsewhere too if this leak is accurate.

So rather than starting at $999.99 / £999 / AU$1,499 like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 did, we’d guess we might see a price more in the region of $1,150 / £1,150 / AU$1,750. That said, we’d take this with a pinch of salt. The source doesn’t have as much of a track record as some, and a previous leak put the US starting price of the Z Flip 5 at around $999, just like last year.

Caught on camera

This isn’t the only new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 leak though, as leaker @Tech_Reve also shared what appears to be a photo of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in a case, which you can see below. That case obscures some of the details, but you can see the long-rumored larger cover screen.

The design here also matches up with another recent Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 image leak, so there’s a good chance it’s accurate. Though the photo looks weirdly low quality, which could be a sign that it’s been edited.

In any case, if the price really is rising this year, that larger cover screen (rumored to be 3.4 inches, up from 1.9 inches on the Z Flip 4) could be part of the reason.

We’re also expecting a new waterdrop hinge design which will apparently allow the two halves of the phone to lie completely flat against each other, a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, and the phone might also have dust resistance for the first time on a Samsung foldable.

Those are likely to be the main upgrades and – along with inflation – the main reasons for a possible price rise. But we can’t help but feel that keeping the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 under $1,000/£1,000 was a big part of its appeal.

If the price leak above is accurate, then the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 will be priced more in line with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, despite probably having significantly worse specs. Will the folding screen be enough to still tempt buyers? We might find out in late July, as that’s reportedly when this best foldable phone contender will be announced.