Samsung is already teasing an upgrade for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6

Still room for improvement

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

We’ve only just managed to get our hands on theSamsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, butSamsungis already teasing upgrades that could arrive in time for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 at some point next year.

As reported byAndroid Authority, Samsung’s head of mobile TM Roh has gone on record as saying that the company is working on dust proofing for its foldables – a feature that’s made difficult because of all the moving parts involved.

“We are well aware of consumer demand for dust proofing, and we are making various efforts to achieve this, but due to the nature of foldables, there are many moving parts, so dust proofing is difficult,” Roh has said, according toBizWatch(and run through a translation engine).

With an IPX8 rating, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and theGalaxy Z Flip 5can withstand a drop in liquid, but there’s no dust resistance on these phones. That means that a speck of dirt could cause problems for the 2023 foldables.

Looking ahead

It’s worth noting that theMotorola Razrand theMotorola Razr Pluslaunched earlier this year do offer dust resistance – but with an IP52 rating, the waterproofing isn’t as comprehensive as it is on the Samsung phones.

Even though the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 have only just launched, we’re still hearing about what’s in store for next year. Apparently anew and improved cover screenis one of the upgrades in the pipeline.

There’salso been talkof a “major form factor change” with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 – although the source didn’t go into any more specifics. It’s not clear exactly how a book-style foldable could have a major form factor change, but we’ll see.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Dust resistance wasn’t promised for 2024, but it could be something that Samsung’s engineers achieve by then. In the meantime though, we’re more than happy with the new foldables that Samsung has just unveiled.

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

We might have our first look at the long-rumored Samsung tri-fold

Samsung reveals its next-gen Bixby AI – a Galaxy brain to rival ChatGPT and Gemini

Phishing attacks surge in 2024 as cybercriminals adopt AI tools and multi-channel tactics