Ice Universe, an anonymous Twitter account with a good track record of leaking details about unannounced smartphones, says Samsung’s upcoming Z Flip 5 will be a 3.4-inch cover screen with a resolution of 720 x 748. This is not the first time Ice has predicted that 3.4-inch secondary display, but it’s the first time we’ve seen a specific resolution. It’s a big increase over the 1.9-inch 260 x 512 cover display on the Z Flip 4.
The leak comes a few days later OnLeaks And MediaPeanut released a series of unofficial renders of the upcoming handset based on leaked specs, while also claiming that the phone will feature a 3.4-inch cover display. Meanwhile, OnLeaks expects the internal display size to remain unchanged at 6.7 inches. Late last year, supply chain analyst Ross Young also reported that the Z Flip 5 would have a secondary screen over 3 inches.
The screen size of the case looks set to be the next big battleground for foldable flip phones. Samsung’s rival Motorola is also planning a similar increase for at least one variant of its upcoming Razr, which will reportedly have a 3.5-inch cover display (instead of 2.7-inch and a resolution of 573 x 800 on the last Razr). Meanwhile, Oppo’s recent Find N2 Flip has a 3.26-inch cover display with a resolution of 382 x 720.
It can be a bit misleading to try to compare these sizes directly, as many of these cover screens have radically different aspect ratios that skew how big they feel in practice. But no matter which screen technically has the highest pixel count, the general trend is towards larger secondary screens, which should theoretically make them useful for more than just quickly checking the time and the first line of a notification. By comparison, the original iPhone had a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 screen.