Get ready to flip all over again.
2019 was the breakout year for folding phones, with devices like the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X coming to market. The Galaxy Fold, in particular, gets a lot of publicity for being the first folding phone you could go out and easily buy in the U.S.
However, if you ask a lot of people, they’d probably argue with you and say that the Galaxy Fold isn’t the most critical folding phone Samsung’s released to date. Instead, that title belongs to the Galaxy Z Flip. While the Fold may have been the first folding phone to hit U.S. store shelves, the Z Flip is the first foldable with a mainstream appeal — specifically, it’s much easier to buy, is widely available at carriers, and costs considerably less than the Fold.
The Galaxy Z Flip will easily stand out as one of the best phones to have come out in 2020, and before you know it, its successor will be upon us. If you’re ready to learn everything there is to know about the Galaxy Z Flip 2, you’ve come to the right place.
Original Flip
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
$1359 at Amazon
$1380 at Best Buy
$1329 at B&H
Samsung’s first Flip is still incredible
Even though we’re expecting the Galaxy Z Flip 2 in the coming months, that doesn’t mean the original Flip should be ignored. In fact, it’s still one heck of a purchase that we’re happy to recommend. The Z Flip is one of the most unique phones you can buy in 2020, and when you pair that with great specs and software, it becomes a super enticing purchase.
Jump to:
- The Z Flip 2’s release date is a ways out
- It’ll likely be an expensive phone
- We aren’t sure about the design
- Flagship specs should be present
- The original Z Flip is a great buy
What is the release date for the Galaxy Z Flip 2?
Perhaps the biggest question regarding the Galaxy Z Flip 2 is “when can I buy it?”. While Samsung has yet to confirm anything, we have a pretty good idea as to when we think the phone will be announced/released.
The original Z Flip was unveiled on February 11, 2020, at one of Samsung’s Unpacked events — right alongside the Galaxy S20. Following that initial unveiling, the phone went on sale just a few days later on February 14.
Given that, we fully expect the Galaxy Z Flip 2 to get its announcement sometime during or around February 2021. We’re also looking forward to a Galaxy S30, and it’s more than likely that the two phones will be shown off side-by-side once again.
That said, we do expect the Z Flip 2’s Unpacked event to be a bit different. Samsung Unpacked is usually a large in-person gathering, but given ongoing travel restrictions and urges for people to socially distance, Samsung is bound to turn Unpacked into an online-only spectacle. This is what Samsung’s doing for the Galaxy Note 20, and we don’t expect anything to change come next February.
How much is the Galaxy Z Flip 2 going to cost?
Folding phones are far from cheap to make, as evident by the price tags for the Galaxy Fold and Z Flip. The Galaxy Fold caused some jaws to drop when it debuted for a cool $1,980, and in comparison, the $1,380 Galaxy Z Flip looks like an absolute bargain.
Guessing a price for the Z Flip 2 is a bit tricky, seeing as how the phone could go one of two ways.
Successors to existing smartphones typically come with improved specs, features, and design. New and improved technologies cost more money, and because of that, it isn’t unreasonable to think that the Z Flip 2 could end up costing more than its predecessor. This is especially true given that the Galaxy Z Flip 5G (which upgrades the Z Flip’s processor to a Snapdragon 865) costs $70 more than its predecessor at $1,449.
That said, rumor has it that the Galaxy Fold 2 could get a price cut compared to the original Fold seeing as how Samsung is expecting to produce more units than before. If Samsung expects a similar increase in demand for the Z Flip 2, that could also be reason to believe that it’ll get a price of around $1,280 or so.
Do we know the design of the Galaxy Z Flip 2?
As of right now, no leaked renders or hands-on photos of the Galaxy Z Flip 2 have been revealed. We expect these to start trickling in over the coming months, however, so stay tuned.
Based purely on educated speculation, we expect the Z Flip 2 to retain a similar design to the original Z Flip. The flip phone-like form factor should remain unchanged, along with the large inner display and hole-punch cutout. If anything, we’d like to see Samsung enlarge the outer display. The external screen on the current Z Flip is incredibly tiny, making it pretty useless beyond checking the time and seeing any incoming notifications.
If Samsung could expand that display a bit, possibly allowing for some light applications, the Z Flip 2 would gain a lot of functionality that the current model lacks.
Can you tell me about the Galaxy Z Flip 2’s specs?
Similar to the design, specs for the Z Flip 2 are also a mystery. We’re looking forward to the usual upgrades to the processor, cameras, etc., but specifics remain unclear.
It’s almost guaranteed that the Z Flip 2 will be powered by the Snapdragon 875, which will be the successor to this year’s flagship 865 chipset. We should also see at least 8GB of RAM, plenty of storage, and (hopefully) a larger battery.
Three rear cameras aren’t out of the question, nor is a 90Hz or 120Hz refresh rate for the inner display. These are all things that would add additional cost to the phone, though, so Samsung will have to find a balancing act of adding improved features while still making the Galaxy Z Flip 2 accessible to a wide audience.
Should I still buy the original Galaxy Z Flip?
There’s no doubt that the Galaxy Z Flip 2 will be an incredible piece of tech, but the fact of the matter is that we still have a while to wait before it comes out. As such, if you’d like to purchase a folding phone right now, the original Galaxy Z Flip is more than worth buying these days.
It may not be brand-spanking-new like it once was, but the Z Flip is still one of the most unique smartphones that exists. It’s beyond futuristic, the folding design is a ton of fun to use, and there’s a real advantage of being able to fold the phone up into a tiny square when you aren’t using it. Plus, the new Galaxy Z Flip 5G with the Snapdragon 865 is launching on August 7 — a nice middle ground while we wait for the Z Flip 2.
The Galaxy Z Flip has the same retail price that it did at launch back in February, but even at its full cost, it’s well worth it for someone that wants to jump aboard the foldable train. There is value in waiting for the Z Flip 2, but if you just can’t wait, that’s fine too.
Original Flip
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
$1359 at Amazon
$1380 at Best Buy
$1329 at B&H
Samsung’s first Flip is still incredible
Even though we’re expecting the Galaxy Z Flip 2 in the coming months, that doesn’t mean the original Flip should be ignored. In fact, it’s still one heck of a purchase that we’re happy to recommend. The Z Flip is one of the most unique phones you can buy in 2020, and when you pair that with great specs and software, it becomes a super enticing purchase.
