Every year, Samsung releases an exclusive version of the Z Fold for China Telecom, such as last year’s Samsung W22. For the first time, the company is releasing a W Flip model based on the Z Flip (of course). It’s like a modern version of those old W Flip phones.
The hardware on the Samsung W23 is essentially the same as the Galaxy Z Fold4, except that it’s a premium device and the company has packed in 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage (the Fold comes with 12GB of RAM).
It’s all about the exterior, though, and W phones typically come in black and gold. The back panel is black ceramic, the aluminum bezel has decorative carving. Even the S Pen (sold separately) has been given a new color (black and gold) to match the phone.
The phone comes loaded with custom themes, the main one drawing inspiration from porcelain from Song Dynasty.
The Samsung W23 can be pre-ordered at the company’s online store in China, with a final price of CNY 16,000 (you pay the first CNY 1,000 as a deposit to book online). For comparison, the 12/512GB Galaxy Z Fold4 costs CNY 14,000.
Samsung W23 (a more premium incarnation of the Galaxy Z Fold4 for China Telecom)
The Samsung W23 Flip takes (most of) the Galaxy Z Flip4 hardware and applies the traditional W-series styling. As its companion, the W Flip has more RAM than the Z Flip – 12GB vs. 8GB – and comes with 512GB of storage.
The design is the same, but this one chooses a cheaper glass back panel instead of ceramic. The hinge is still modeled, so this isn’t something you can recreate with the Bespoke editor.
Samsung W23 costs CNY 10,000 (again, you need to start with a CNY 1,000 deposit) and you can find it at the Samsung China Store. For comparison, the 8/512GB Galaxy Z Flip costs CNY 8,500 (China is not covered by the Bespoke customization program, by the way).
Samsung W23 Flip (a more premium incarnation of China Telecom’s Galaxy Z Flip4)
If you’re not familiar with the W series, it’s exclusive to China Telecom and not available globally. Availability for both the Samsung W23 and W23 Flip will begin on October 28.
Source 1 | Source 2 (in Chinese)
