It’s probably a pretty safe bet that there will be a replacement for the Galaxy Z Fold 4 phone later this year, but anyone who had hoped that Samsung would reuse the camera from another of its flagship product might wind up disappointed.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra ships with an impressive 200-megapixel main camera which saw some people hope that the Galaxy Z Fold 5 would borrow it for itself. However, that now seems unlikely based on a report by the often-reliable leaker Ice Universe.
Posting to Twitter the leaker said that the “Galaxy Z Fold5 will continue to use the same camera module as Fold4.” Ice Universe’s tweet continues, saying that it’s “impossible to use HP2.”
As GSM Arena points out, HP2 refers to the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 200-megapixel camera. And if it’s impossible to use that, it sounds like Samsung will instead choose to stick with the same 50-megapixel camera that already handles photo-shooting for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Ice Universe hasn’t said why it’s impossible for Samsung to use that 200-megapixel sensor, however, although there are a few possible reasons that might make sense. Cost limitations could be one, while the physical size of the thing could be another. Samsung is already having to deal with design constraints related to making a phone fold in half without making it unduly thick. Perhaps a 200-megapixel main camera simply isn’t doable right now. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be in the future, of course.
It’s also important to remember that there are other ways for Samsung to make the Galaxy Z Fold 5 take better photos than the previous model without upping the number of pixels involved. Apple famously didn’t change its 12-megapixel camera for years, and it still puts it in the iPhone 14. But software tweaks improved the quality of the photos it took as the years rolled on.
Google, too, relied on software rather than raw pixels for its Pixel lineup, so the Galaxy Fold 5 not getting the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s camera isn’t the end of the world here. Even if it might be something of a disappointment for some.