Samsung Galaxy Z Flip adds 5G, arrives Aug. 7 for $1,450

Samsung’s original Galaxy Z Flip, seen above, went on sale Feb. 14 at a starting price of $1,380. Juan Garzon/CNET Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5G, a variant of its clamshell foldable packed with next-generation cellular capabilities, will launch on Aug. 7. But that extra performance will cost you $1,450. A 4G version of the Galaxy Z Flip went on sale for $1,380 on Feb. 14 — about a month before the coronavirus pandemic caused lockdowns in the US. That device, Samsung’s second foldable after last year’s Galaxy Fold, features a design similar to Motorola’s updated Razr. The Z Flip, like the Razr, is essentially a high-tech flip phone, with an interior, 6.7-inch bendable screen and a small, exterior notifications panel. The Z Flip also has a glass screen, the first for the foldables market. For more like this Subscribe to the Mobile newsletter, receive notifications and see related stories on CNET. The Z Flip 5G will eventually sell through AT&T, T-Mobile, Samsung.com and Amazon, and is already available for preorder at Best Buy. On AT&T, the device will only be able to connect to the carrier’s low-band and midband 5G networks, which currently make up the bulk of its 5G footprint. Likewise, it will only be able to tap into similar 5G bands on T-Mobile.  The phone will not, however, be able to use the faster millimeter-wave 5G that’s available in parts of 35 cities for AT&T and six cities for T-Mobile.  In addition to 5G support, the new Z Flip 5G will also run on Qualcomm’s updated Snapdragon 865 Plus processor and comes in two new colors, a “Mystic Gray” and a “Mystic Bronze.”  Samsung says the new phone will also feature a “haze finish that is soft to the touch while minimizing fingerprints.” In the US, the original Z Flip was 4G only and was sold by AT&T and Sprint, the latter of which has since been acquired by T-Mobile. The initial Galaxy Z Flip started at $1,380. It sold out almost immediately and was backordered for weeks.  Most companies don’t even have one foldable phone, but Samsung now has three in its lineup.  Along with a 5G version of the Flip, it’s expected to introduce the second generation of its Fold — which expands from a phone into a tablet — at its digital Unpacked event on Aug. 5. The company delayed the launch of its first Fold, which started at $1,980, by five months from April 2019 to September of that year after some reporters found screen defects in their review units. This year, it’s expected to launch Round 2 with what could be called the Galaxy Fold 2 or Galaxy Z Fold 2. The new device would build on what Samsung learned from last year’s disaster. Samsung’s new products come at a difficult time. 2020 was supposed to be a strong year for the phone industry, as innovations like 5G and foldable screens got people shopping again. Instead, financial struggles and worries about COVID-19 will limit the number of devices companies can make and
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