While Samsung has released five generations of Galaxy Z Flip series phones, the only big change it brought to the lineup was with the Galaxy Z Flip 5. It has a much bigger screen than previous-generation Galaxy Z Flip phones. While the company introduced a slightly larger primary camera with the Galaxy Z Flip 4, not much has improved in the imaging department over the years. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 still has the same 12MP+12MP dual-camera setup as seen on the original Galaxy Z Flip.
Samsung's rivals are thinking bigger, though, and the South Korean firm is falling behind the curve in the flip-style phone segment as well.
Xiaomi MIX Flip will have a telephoto camera and Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn't
Last year, OPPO became the first brand to introduce a flip phone with a dedicated telephoto camera. The Find N3 Flip has a 32MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. In February 2024, Huawei introduced the Pocket 2, a flip phone with an 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Now, Xiaomi is ready to launch its first flip phone—Xiaomi MIX Flip—in China, and it will have a dedicated telephoto camera.
According to reports, the Xiaomi MIX Flip has a 60MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. It reportedly uses an OmniVision OV60A sensor (1/2.61-inch) with 0.6µm pixels. Its primary camera is reportedly a 50MP OmniVision OVX800 sensor (1/1.55-inch), which is bigger than the one used in the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and as big as the primary camera on the Galaxy S24. The MIX Flip seems to lack an ultrawide camera, though. It is expected to have a 32MP selfie camera on the foldable screen.
In comparison, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 doesn't have a telephoto or high-resolution primary camera. You can watch our Galaxy Z Flip 5 camera review in the video below.
Galaxy Z Flip 6 could use a 50MP primary camera for in-sensor zoom, but it might not be enough
A few weeks ago, the first renders of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 were leaked. If those are accurate, the upcoming flip phone from Samsung will continue to have two cameras. It means we won't see a telephoto camera on the Galaxy Z Flip lineup for the sixth year in a row.
Some reports claim the Galaxy Z Flip 6 will have a 50MP primary camera. Samsung could use the in-sensor crop for improved 2x zoom shots. However, those shots will likely not be as good as shots captured using the dedicated telephoto camera on the Xiaomi MIX Flip. This is a bit disappointing, especially since three of Samsung's rivals have decided to ship flip phones with telephoto cameras.
