Basing their predictions on the February 2020 launch of the Galaxy Z Flip, many foldable-phone fans had hopes that Samsung would hold to an annual schedule and launch its successor, the Galaxy Z Flip 2, in February 2021. Unfortunately, the phone might come out far later in the year, according to an industry insider.
Ross Young, founder of a display supply chain advisory firm that works with various brands and manufacturers — including Samsung — responded on Twitter to a user's Z Flip 2 wish list with a prediction that it "May not get launched till Q3'21".
May not get launched till Q3'21..September 28, 2020
He continued on to say that there would be "No new foldables from Samsung until then unless the discounted Fold SE happens..." Phone Arena first spotted his prediction.
Whenever the Galaxy Z Flip 2 does arrive, a recent specs leak suggests that it will have a larger external screen, bigger battery and an upgraded hinge, compared to the Z Flip 1's outer-facing 1.1-inch display, 3,300mAh battery and hinge that, in our review, left a "crease on the screen side where the hinge is located".
The first improvement was supported by patents found in July that suggested it could have a wider outer display. More importantly, they also showed it could have a triple-lens rear camera, which would be an upgrade on the dual-lens rear camera in the original Galaxy Z Flip.
Samsung's future smartphone calendar
Considering the Galaxy Z Flip 5G upgrade launched in early August, Samsung may have reset its annual launch schedule to start when the better version of the Z Flip came out. It would therefore make sense that the Z Flip 2 would arrive in August 2021, which falls into the middle of Young's Q3 prediction.
The idea that Samsung will also release a new Z Fold device between now and late 2021 is also intriguing. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 just launched in September, so it may not make sense to launch another foldable phone so soon. This "special edition" discounted phone could be a relaunch of the original Galaxy Fold, which originally sold in November 2019. Could we see another Fold before the end of the year?
If you do end up in the market for a Galaxy phone in early 2021, we expect the Samsung Galaxy S21 to arrive next February with major GPU and camera upgrades. You just won't be able to fold it.
