It seems Samsung is in no rush to rethink its foldable strategy, even if that means taking a backseat to innovation and letting the Chinese labels bear the burden of progressive experimentation.
One of Samsung’s manufacturing partners has revealed in an interview that the next slate of foldable phones from Samsung may not offer much in terms of upgrades. Instead, enthusiasts will have to wait for the 2026 slate to see any notable changes.
Talking to Korean news outlet The Elec, an executive at China’s FastPrint revealed that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 series may not get much in terms of upgrades, most of which are expected to appear on next year’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. Now, FastPrint knows a thing or two about the smartphone business.
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The company recently supplied the crucial HDI, aka mainboard, for the sleek Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. It is slimmer than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 but offers a bigger display and upgrades the imaging array to a 200-megapixel camera sensor.
FastPrint has also received Samsung’s nod to supply the same component for the upcoming Galaxy S25 series phones. The latest revelation from Samsung’s partner is not entirely surprising, though the plans at the Korean electronics giant might change down the road.
“Looking only at Samsung Electronics’ foldable phone form factor, it seems that there will be some changes starting with the Z8 series that will be released in 2026, aside from the Galaxy Z7 series next year,” said the FastPrint executive.
The spokesperson further added that Samsung was hoping to counter the challenge from Chinese foldable phones and anticipated Apple’s entry in the game, as well, but the pace for innovation has apparently diminished internally.
Fold 7 should have same display sizes as Fold 6 SE. So, Fold 6 SE will basically become the Fold 7.
Flip 7 should grow from 6.7" to 6.85" and cover display should be around 4".— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) December 2, 2024
Supply chain expert Ross Young recently shared on X that the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition will lend its looks to the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7. However, the overall design and the camera hardware will reportedly be a familiar affair without any notable improvements.
Looking over at the competition, the likes of Honor, Vivo, and Xiaomi have kept raising the bar for foldable phone engineering. Their phones are noticeably slimmer and pack more enticing camera hardware.
It would be interesting to see how Samsung manages to stay competitive — and for how long — despite asking a fat premium for foldable phones that are clearly not the best out there.