The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip - the company's second attempt at cracking the foldable phone - is on its way. But you already knew that, didn't you? Because the rumour mill went into overdrive at the end of January, a video of it in action leaked just last week, and Samsung teased the device itself in an advert played during the Oscars on Sunday. In other words, this is hardly a surprise.
Now, though, we have the details.
As predicted in that original leak, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will go on sale on Valentine's day priced at £1300 / $1380. For that money you'll receive an exceptionally snazzy foldable phone in one of three colours - black, purple and (in some countries but not the UK) gold.
The Z Flip has one tall or wide (depending on which way you're holding it) 6.7in screen that bends in the middle thanks to a 'hideaway' hinge. This screen looks as though it will be great for movies thanks to its cinema-style, almost-21:9 ratio, but it can also behave as if it's actually two screens, with the bottom half used for navigation while the top half displays what you select.
The full resolution of the AMOLED screen is 2636x1080, which equates to 425ppi (pixels per inch). For reference, the (also just announced) Samsung Galaxy S20 has a resolution of 3200x1440, which equates to 566ppi on the smallest of the three available versions. In other words, buying the funky, foldable phone rather than the 'standard' flagship means you get a wider, but lower-resolution screen.
By their very nature, hinges create a tiny gap through which dust and other nonsense can wriggle in to your device, but Samsung has mitigated this by creating a 'fibre shield' to keep everything out.
The hinge is a 'freestop' design, too, which means it can remain open at almost any angle. It's suggested that this could be useful for video calling - pop the Z Flip on a desk, open it so the camera is aimed at you, and chat away with your friend or loved one visible on the top section of the screen.
There's also an extra, little (1.1in) screen on the outside of the phone. This cover display delivers live info and can even act as a camera viewfinder for taking selfies. Neat.
The main camera cluster is positioned next to this cover display and consists of a 12MP 'ultra wide' camera and 12MP 'wide-angle' camera. The 10MP camera on the inside, meanwhile, is integrated into the big, main display but barely detracts from it thanks to the pinhole design.
When folded, the phone measures 87 x 74 x 17mm, so is very pocketable indeed. When unfolded, it's 167 x 74 x 7.2mm. It weights 183g. Under the skin is a 2.95GHz octa-core processor that's backed up with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of integrated storage. Interestingly, while the Z Flip's processor is perhaps a touch more powerful than that of its S20 siblings (at least at maximum output), the latter is available with more RAM so will likely run faster. It's got a bigger battery and is available with more built-in storage, too.
So, do you want the 'typical' Samsung flagship with its higher-resolution display, bigger battery and potentially faster speeds, or do you want the foldable, cinematic Z Flip? Perhaps you should wait for our review before deciding...
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