Samsung Galaxy Fold 2: Rumours, release date and everything we know so far
Samsung is launching its second folding phone - the Galaxy Z Flip - on 11 February according to leaks and rumours, but what of the update to Samsung's first folding phone, the Galaxy Fold?
Rumours have started appearing about an update to the Galaxy Fold - which we think might get called the Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Fold 2. It's also been referred to as Project Champ.
While most of the attention has been on Samsung's clamshell device, here's what we've heard about the Galaxy Fold 2.
Release date and price
- Rumoured mid-year 2020 launch
The Galaxy Fold was originally unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2019, but the Fold 2 is expected to appear once the S20 family and Z Flip have launched, with Q2 being suggested. There's nothing even near concrete here, but some time around June 2020 would be our guess if this is accurate.
There's currently no telling what the price will be: but if the Galaxy Z Flip is coming in at $1400, then the Fold 2 is likely to stick to its premium pricing closer to $2000.
Design
- Comes with S Pen
We're expecting Samsung to stick to the book-style vertical fold like the original Galaxy Fold. Given the larger design of this phone-cum-tablet, there would perhaps be space to integrate the S Pen, said to be included on this new version.
There's been no real detail about what we might expect from Samsung, but we'd love to see a slimmer overall design than the original Galaxy Fold, a reduction in the notch on the display and a larger external display.
Display and hardware
- 7.7-inch display with ultra thin glass?
Early reports suggest that the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 might come with an 8-inch display; since then we've seen mention of a 7.7-inch display, both bigger than the original 7.2-inch.
There's been a lot of talk about Samsung developing an ultra thin glass protective layer for folding devices. There's been a lot of talk about this in relation to the Galaxy Z Flip, but it would make perfect sense for the Galaxy Fold 2 too.
There's been no talk of the external display - but this is what we'd really like to see Samsung expand, to increase usability when the phone is closed.
On the hardware front there have been no leaks. We'd expect Samsung to use flagship-grade hardware, perhaps Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 and keep this as a 5G phone.
Cameras
- 108-megapixel main camera
This is the part of the rumour churn that's been repeated the most. It might be that Samsung plans to use the 108-megapixel camera from the Galaxy S20 Ultra in the Fold 2 as well, it might be that it sounds exciting so people have repeated it more often.
The original Galaxy Fold had a lot of cameras, but it's clear that Samsung needs to reduce the front camera notch in the display. We'd imagine that using a punch hole would be the obvious solution - as its other 2020 phones are going to - and then having one set of cameras on the rear of the phone, likely similar to the S20 Ultra or S20+.
Again, there are currently no leaks indicating what we might get.
Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 rumours: What's happened so far?
Here are all the rumours and leaks that have appeared so far.
29 January 2020: A couple of display details appear for Galaxy Fold 2
A couple of details drop into a conversation from Ross Young, founder of DisplaySearch, on Twitter.
Ultra-thin glass (UTG) from Schott is their best hope then. First on Galaxy Z Flip. Then on Galaxy Fold 2 which is now known as Project Champ and should come mid-year. It will fold out to 7.7” but will be quite a bit more expensive than the more portable clamshells...
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) January 29, 2020
27 January 2020: Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 could feature 108MP camera, 5G and S Pen support, launch in Q2
Details about the Fold 2 shared by Max Weinbach on Twitter, giving us some of the first information about the Fold update.
I just got word that Samsung will likely be launching the true Galaxy Fold successor in Q2 of this year.
— Max Weinbach (@MaxWinebach) January 24, 2020
If I've conglomerates all the different reports correctly, it should have an 8" display, 108MP camera, ultra thin glass, SPen, Snapdragon 865 and 5G.
6 December 2019: Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 could come with 108-megapixel camera
Bloomberg reported a handful of specs for the Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy Fold - including that it could have a 108-megapixel sensor.
18 October 2019: Samsung has a new plan for the screen for Galaxy Fold 2
Samsung is said to be planning to use ultra thin glass as protection for folding phones.
6 October 2019: Samsung patents reveal folding phone with S Pen
LetsGoDigital uncovered a Samsung patent relating to folding phone and S Pen, suggesting that an updated Galaxy Fold could support the S Pen, a little like a Note replacement.
26 June 2019: Second-gen Samsung foldable to have S Pen and 8-inch display
A report from Korean news site The Elec, suggested that a second-gen Galaxy Fold would add support for the S Pen and have a larger display.
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