Technologies
Galaxy Z Fold 5 Rumors: Samsung’s Next Foldable May Be Coming Soon
The next version of the Galaxy Z Fold is expected to have some design refinements and other improvements.
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Samsung’s next foldable phone could be right around the corner. If the smartphone maker maintains its typical product launch cycle, we could see another new version of Samsung’s book-style foldable phone around the August time frame. A recent report suggests it could arrive even earlier than usual.
Rumors indicate Samsung’s next foldable, expected to be called the Galaxy Z Fold 5, will be a minor update to the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Among the biggest changes is expected to be a redesigned hinge that should reduce the device’s thickness. But, of course, we won’t know for certain until Samsung makes an announcement.
Still, the rumors pointing to routine changes like a thinner build suggest Samsung is still fine-tuning the Galaxy Z Fold’s design. Each year, Samsung has implemented modest but useful changes to the Z Fold’s physique that make it more palatable. With the Galaxy Z Fold 4, for example, Samsung increased the cover display’s width, a small change that makes it feel a bit more like a regular phone when closed. But the Z Fold 4 is still notably girthy when folded compared to a standard phone, showing there’s still work to be done.
Samsung will also have more competition this year now that Google has introduced its first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, which ships in June.
Here’s what we know about the Galaxy Z Fold 5 so far based on rumors and historical Samsung product launches.
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Galaxy Z Fold 5 release date
Samsung typically releases new foldable phones in August. The Galaxy Z Fold 4, for example, was announced on Aug. 10 and went on sale Aug. 26. Before that, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 hit store shelves on Aug. 27 in 2021.
Samsung seems to have built a tradition around launching its foldable phones in August, and it seems likely the company might do the same this year. Plus, it gives Samsung an opportunity to generate buzz around its own products heading into the fall, which is when Apple and Google typically unveil their new smartphones.
However, Korean news outlet Chosun reports that Samsung will introduce its new foldable phones earlier than usual on July 26 in South Korea.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 price
Samsung’s tablet-style foldable doesn’t come cheap. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at $1,800 without a trade-in. That’s certainly cheaper than Samsung’s original Galaxy Fold, but it’s still considerably more expensive than your average phone. It’s also the same price as Google’s recently announced Pixel Fold.
We haven’t heard much about the Galaxy Z Fold 5’s price when it comes to leaks and rumors. But TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s mobile experience division, acknowledged when speaking with CNET last August that pricing is a challenge.
«It’s definitely a challenge that we are tackling, and we will need to tackle,» he said.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 design
If the rumors turn out to be true, Samsung may make some design refinements to the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Korean news outlets The Elec and ET News, as well as prolific leaker Ice Universe, have reported that Samsung will implement a new water drop-shaped hinge for the Galaxy Z Fold 5. This could result in a less noticeable crease and a slimmer profile when closed, similar to the Oppo Find N, which has this hinge style. The biggest benefit would be that the phone folds completely shut with no gaps, making it feel more sleek when being used as a normal phone.
That would be a much-appreciated improvement, considering one of the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s biggest drawbacks is that it still feels chunky when folded. Competitors like Oppo and Huawei have also done a better job at hiding the crease, as my colleagues Sareena Dayaram and Eli Blumenthal have written, so this new hinge could help Samsung catch up.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 S Pen
Samsung’s book-style foldable has supported the S Pen since the Galaxy Z Fold 3, so it seems likely that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will as well. The question, however, is whether you’ll be able to store it within the device as you can with the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
ET News reported that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will not include a storage slot for the S Pen. There’s less room for S Pen storage since the hinge structure has changed, the report said citing a person close to the issue.
However, a previous report from The Elec said Samsung cited adding a designated slot for the S Pen as a challenge that it believes needs to be overcome to further popularize foldable phones. This suggested that Samsung was indeed considering adding an S Pen holster to its next foldable.
Embedding the S Pen in the Galaxy Z Fold 5 could make it more useful as a productivity device, further defining who that product is truly for. But doing so while reducing the device’s thickness is certainly a challenge. One solution could be to create a magnetic mechanism for attaching the pen to the Z Fold 5, similar to the way the Apple Pencil attaches to the iPad.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4’s screen when unfolded.
Galaxy Z Fold 5 storage and other specs
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 will likely have some specifications in common with the Galaxy S23 lineup. The phone may be available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage options, just like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, according to Sam Mobile.
It’ll also likely run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, according to The Elec, just like the Galaxy S23 family. Samsung optimized the version of the chip that’s inside its latest flagship phones, so it’s possible it will do the same for its next foldables.
We haven’t heard many rumors about the camera yet, but The Elec reports it could have a 12-megapixel selfie camera and a triple-lens rear camera with a 50-megapixel main camera. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 also has a 50-megapixel main camera, so it sounds like we won’t be seeing too much of an upgrade there. But if it does have the new Samsung-optimized edition of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, we may see some of the behind-the-scenes improvements to image processing that arrived on the Galaxy S23.
The 12-megapixel front camera would also represent an upgrade from the 10-megapixel selfie camera on Galaxy Z Fold 4’s cover screen, provided that The Elec’s information is correct.
Overall, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 seems like it could be a modest improvement over the Galaxy Z Fold 4. But if the rumors turn out to be true, it’ll represent another step toward addressing some of the aesthetic compromises that come with foldable phones, like screen creases and thick designs when shut.
Technologies
AI Brings Val Kilmer Back to the Big Screen a Year After His Death
Kilmer’s estate approves plans to use generative AI to resurrect the late actor for a role in the historical drama As Deep As the Grave.
Actor Val Kilmer died in 2025, but he’ll be seen in an upcoming movie he didn’t live to film. The historical archaeologist drama As Deep As the Grave will include an AI version of the actor who died at age 65 after a battle with throat cancer. It’s not the first time we’ve seen studios use AI this way, but it could be the most successful.
Director and writer Coerte Voorhees revealed to Variety on Wednesday that he would use AI to bring Kilmer’s likeness back to play Father Fintan, a Native American priest.
As Deep As the Grave tells the true story of an archaeologist couple who worked with the Navajo people in the 1920s to learn about America’s very first civilizations. Voorhees says that Kilmer agreed to play the role five years ago, but the actor’s struggles with throat cancer made him unable to complete work on it. There’s no date yet for the film’s release.
Hollywood actors have increasingly found themselves at odds with generative AI, a technology that has rapidly begun to infiltrate nearly every aspect of the entertainment industry. From writing scripts to generating digital likenesses of actors’ faces and voices, AI now has the ability to replicate performances with striking realism. In some instances, studios have gone even further, creating entirely new AI «actors» who can perform without ever stepping onto a set. This has raised complex questions about consent, compensation, and creative ownership, as performers grapple with the reality that their identities and craft can now be reproduced, modified, or even replaced by algorithms.
These attempts have been strongly opposed by the SAG-AFTRA labor union representing entertainers, which has been engaged in strikes against video game companies and is currently in precarious negotiations with film and TV studios. The labor guild has certain protections against generative AI following a strike that lasted more than 100 days, including requirements for clear consent and fair compensation. The current negotiations would expand these protections.
A SAG-AFTRA representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Voorhees says that Kilmer’s children approve of this AI resurrection.
«[Kilmer] always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling,» his daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, said in a statement, according to Variety. «This spirit is something that we are all honoring within this specific film, of which he was an integral part.»
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, March 19
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 19.
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s a pretty easy one today, but we’ve got all the answers in case you’re stumped. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Ghost’s word
Answer: BOO
4A clue: Magician’s «And just like that, it’s gone!»
Answer: POOF
5A clue: With 7-Across, it’s full of stars
Answer: NIGHT
6A clue: White bills in Monopoly
Answer: ONES
7A clue: See 5-Across
Answer: SKY
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Score of 4 on a par 3
Answer: BOGEY
2D clue: ___ and aahs
Answer: OOHS
3D clue: Frequently, in poetry
Answer: OFT
4D clue: Like the sands of Harbour Island, Bahamas
Answer: PINK
5D clue: Dissenting votes
Answer: NOS
Technologies
Customers Prefer Apps Over Websites for Wireless and Home Internet Service
Easier logins are a key reason customers are happier with apps, according to the J.D. Power study.
When you last checked your mobile or home internet bill, did you reach for your phone or sit down with your laptop or desktop computer? According to a new J.D. Power study, people would rather access their accounts via apps than websites. And that preference is especially strong when it comes to telecom companies such as mobile carriers and home internet providers (which increasingly overlap).
According to the 2026 US Telecom Digital Experience Study, surveyed customers gave app login an average satisfaction score of 681 for wireless carriers and 689 for internet service providers (out of 1,000 points). Website login trailed those by 38 points and 42 points, respectively. J.D. Power gathered evaluations from 12,082 customers of eight internet providers and 14 wireless carriers.
Biometric logins were a major factor in the decision. When accessing an account, there are always one or more layers of authentication just to get in. An app tends to speed you through the door using face or finger recognition to sign in or load a passkey.
Built-in services like Apple’s Passwords app can also use biometrics to unlock and fill in saved credentials in websites, but the experience isn’t as smooth. J.D. Power noted that maintenance issues and slow responsiveness also derail the website login experience across both segments.
This helps explain why carriers have invested heavily in improving their apps. For one, T-Mobile’s T-Life app is increasingly the central point of customer interaction. And AT&T just this week rolled out a new app — named simply AT&T — that is a single resource for its mobile and broadband customers.
AT&T’s Jeff Dixon, assistant vice president of Digital Product Management and Development, emphasized the importance of speed in the company’s app overhaul.
«We did focus on performance to make it snappy throughout,» he said, noting extensive architectural work on back-end services to cache and pre-fetch data.
The J.D. Power study also found that the gap between satisfaction with telecom companies’ apps and websites was wider than in other industries, suggesting that wireless and internet providers need to shore up their web experiences. There was a 25-point gap between apps and websites for wireless carriers, and an 11-point gap for internet service providers.
Overall, customer satisfaction was 654 out of 1,000 for wireless carriers and 659 for internet providers. Scores were based on four factors in order of importance: design, system performance, tools and capabilities, and information.
Ranking among the wireless carriers, Mint Mobile got the highest score (704), with Spectrum Mobile coming next (678) and followed by a tie between Metro by T-Mobile and T-Mobile itself (672). It’s worth noting that, of those, Spectrum is the only one not owned by T-Mobile.
For internet service providers, T-Mobile ranked the highest in the survey with a score of 695, followed by AT&T at 675 and Verizon at 669.
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