Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip may not be perfect, but it's the most exciting phone in a while.

The Z Flip is the first relatively affordable and decently built foldable smartphone, and its clamshell form factor makes it surprisingly compact and portable. Now Samsung appears to be preparing a 5G model.

The news comes from SamMobile, which has it on good authority that Samsung is preparing a clamshell foldable 5G model for release later this year. The report doesn't get any more specific than that, but it will be interesting to see how Samsung pulls off such a feat from a packaging standpoint.

Consider this: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 supports 5G, but it does not have connectivity to millimeter wave (mmWave) networks, which provide the fastest speeds over the shortest distance.

The reason for this is the size of the S20. Samsung was able to include millimeter wave running gear in the larger Plus and Ultra models, but there was no room for those components in the smallest model. As a result, the base Galaxy S20 can only connect to sub-6 GHz networks.

Even if Samsung made a 5G-enabled Z-Flip exactly the same size as the original, it is unlikely that the revamped foldable could support mmWave technology.

Additionally, there is the issue of battery life: the Z Flip has a 3,300mAh battery, which is not too shabby. However, mmWave consumes a lot of power, and without enhanced capacity, the phone's charge life will likely be significantly reduced.

In short, Samsung could certainly make a 5G-enabled Galaxy Z Flip, but we have no idea why it would make such an effort now.

If the company is forced to omit the mmWave part, the effort would hardly be worth it. Also, if Samsung crammed these components into the phone, it would probably have to significantly increase the phone's battery and overall design, losing the Z Flip's main appeal as a compact foldable.

In any case, a 5G Z Flip would certainly be more expensive than the existing $1,380 model. [It is a more suitable successor to the original Samsung Galaxy Fold, which has tablet-like proportions and folds horizontally rather than vertically. That device is certain to appear near the end of 2020, probably around the same time as the Samsung Galaxy Note 20.

On the off-chance that you've decided that foldable phones are a passing fad, make no mistake. All the rumors suggest that Samsung is more focused on foldable phones than ever before, and this new form factor is not going away anytime soon.