It’s hard to believe Samsung is the company that, just five years ago, kickstarted the foldable revolution. Bumpy launch aside, it was absolutely impressive to finally see a large OEM take its chances on turning what was once just a collection of concept devices into something lining every carrier shelf in the US — truly, you don’t see that every day. It was a big swing, one that spawned countless imitators following in the path Samsung had paved on its own.
But in the half-decade since, we’ve watched Samsung grow increasingly complacent, taking fewer chances as its Android-based competition dried up. TheGalaxy S24 Ultralooks like the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which looks like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, and so on it goes. And now thatwe’ve got our first leaks for the Galaxy Z Fold 6, I’m left wondering if current day Samsung would’ve ever taken a leap on a class of gadgets like foldables in the first place without someone else leading the way.
Smartphones are boring, but foldables are a whole new world
Meet the new phone, same as the old phone
It’s easy for us gadget obsessives — especially those of us in the tech press community — to get carried away with expecting new smartphone designs year in and year out. Truthfully, the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn’t necessarily need to look any different than its predecessors because, frankly, what really is there to change? Sure, there might be specific preferences held by every individual user, but the core design of a modern smartphone is, effectively, locked in after more than a decade of experimentation.
That’s not true with foldables. While the Galaxy Z Fold 5 doesn’t look all that different from the original 2019 model — larger outer display and thinner, gap-less chassis notwithstanding — there’s still plenty of experimentation left until we find exactly what form factor is right for this device class. Hell, even the fact that clamshell and book-style foldables are completely unique from each other, despite using the same core technology, tells you all you need to know.
But Samsung seems unwilling to try out anything new. The renders sourced from OnLeaks showcase a smartphone that seems to shrug at any kind of generational changes. The edges have been squared off, effectively matching the Galaxy S24 and S24+, and the overall dimensions weigh in both slightly shorter and wider, suggesting Samsung is changing the shape of its 6.2-inch cover display just enough to be noticeable. Whether it’ll be enough to feel modern next to what Google and OnePlus areno doubt cooking up, though, remains to be seen.
It’s not just the screen size. Early leaked dimensions for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 suggest it’ll be just as thick as its predecessor. The Z Fold 5 measured in at 6.1mm when unfolded and 13.4mm when closed, the former of which being the same number OnLeaks and SmartPrix suggest in their reporting. If that’s true, it’ll keep the Z Fold 6 one of the thickest foldables on the market today when closed, bulkier than last year’sOnePlus Open,Pixel Fold, and about 3mm thicker than the leaked numbers for the upcomingPixel Fold 2.
Add it all together and, ultimately, it’s hard to see the company that released the original Galaxy Fold in these leaks. Where’s that sense of experimentation Samsung was known for through the 2010s? Instead, the Z-series remains stuck in a frustratingly boring rut, unable to change or evolve more than the bare minimum with each generation.
A real tortoise-and-hare situation
While everyone raced to catch up, Samsung fell asleep at the wheel
Last year, three different foldables with three unique designs hit the US market, marking the first time Samsung had some real competition. TheGalaxy Z Fold 5almost certainly felt like the most polished of the three, and there’s something to be said for that. But considering its rivals released first-gen hardware to compete against a fifth revision, that level of polish should really be taken for granted. Samsungshouldbe that far ahead of its rivals — in fact, those companies shouldn’t be competing on any actual level.
As we head deeper into a new year’s worth of hardware, it’s tough to feel excited about the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Small revisions aren’t enough when OnePlus and Google are attempting to leapfrog your hardware skills, to say absolutely nothing of promising global devices like the svelte Honor Magic V2. There’s no risk, no fresh ideas — a series of devices completely existing within their own bubble, unwilling to change even as competitors continue to surpass expectations. In other words, modern day Samsung feels a lot like Apple.
But Samsung doesn’t have the fan base that allows it to sit on generation after generation of unchanged hardware, particularly in a space as fresh as foldables. Even as it maintains its lead among Android OEMs, those numbers slip away a little more every year. Just last week, we learned theiPhone took the top seven placesin smartphone sales on a global level for the very first time,
And should Apple ever get into the foldable ring — and rumors heavily suggest it’s working on this sort of hardware in some capacity — Samsung will once again find itself on the back foot, attempting to respond with some sort of hardware that finally matches its largest rival. It wouldn’t be the first time it turned into a follower.
Samsung is scared of trying something new
And the industry is worse off because of it
Samsung’s bravery in attempting fresh designs and new concepts never before seen in the smartphone world has seemingly dried up, replaced with a laundry list of boring decisions crafted in boardroom meetings and focus tested to death. This decision to avoid risk at all costs has, simultaneously, left Android in a perilous place, as it’s more than ever reliant on hardware like foldables to bring in potential iOS converts and toprevent Apple from building an iPhone monopolyin the premium space.
There’s no right answer yet for what a foldable should or shouldn’t look like, and Samsung is the sort of company that should be willing to take chances on trying out new designs. While it’s possible that we’re already coalescing around a pretty familiar design for folding phones — one that essentially looks like any other modern day smartphone from the front — I’d still like to thinkthere’s space for something we haven’t seen before.
Or who knows? Maybe Samsung is keeping all of its design chops for amore expensive Ultra variantof its Z Fold lineup. Only time will tell, but the company’s track record seems to suggest otherwise.
The Pixel Fold 2’s leaked redesign sees Google trading originality for a safe bet
It feels like all foldables are doomed to follow in the footsteps of traditional smartphones
