Samsung's Next Foldable Phone Might Be 4G Only
by Alex Kidman
Samsung's next foldable phone might skip out on 5G altogether, with US FCC filings pointing only to the existence of an LTE model.
While 2019 saw limited worldwide rollouts of 5G networks, it's pretty much taken for granted that 2020 will be the year where we see not only an explosion in 5G network availability, but also a whole slew of 5G devices, especially in the premium phone space.
After all, if you're paying top dollar for a phone in 2020, you'd expect 5G to be on board, right?
Maybe not. The latest set of leaks around the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung's no-longer-secret-at-all foldable phone come via Droid Life where they note the precise LTE bands that the US model of the Galaxy Z Flip will use.
On the plus side, there's band support there for some of the frequencies used by Australian 4G LTE networks, so Samsung shouldn't have to do that much work to bring the Galaxy Z Flip down under.
However, what's notably absent is any filings around 5G capabilities at all. It certainly appears as though the model of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip as sold in the US – which Droid Life suspects will be exclusive to AT&T – will be 4G only.
Now, this isn't an absolute statement about 5G capabilities because Samsung could always develop multiple models of the Galaxy Z Flip for sale in different markets.
However, given the purported prices we've seen floated around for the Galaxy Z Flip, coming in cheaper than the announced Australian launch price for the similarly framed Motorola RAZR depending on how its tax situation pans out, it might make sense for Samsung to leave 5G off the table.
Not long now until the Galaxy Unpacked event in the states on 11 February, when we'll find out for sure.