Samsung is reportedly panning on a wider version of its book-like Galaxy Z Fold foldable phone this year, and the latest speculation suggests it’ll be a tougher prospect – literally.
According to the ZDNet Korea sources, Samsung is planning on fitting the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Wide with thicker glass in the inner display. The sources say the display will be a thicker 60μm (micrometers) than the 45μm glass planned for the forthcoming ‘Ultra’ version of the device set to launch this year too. That’s the same as the Z Fold 7.
While that’s likely to make the display more durable and resistant to drops and dings and will be more crease resistant. However, it will have some downsides too – namely that’ll be more susceptible to breakages after continual folds and will likely give the device a thicker footprint overall that makes it slightly less pocketable.
The report says: “Samsung Electronics once made the foldable phone UTG thickness thin to 30μm, but recently it is thick again. If the UTG is thin, it can reduce the problem of breaking when folding the screen, but it is easy to get wrinkled on the screen and the durability to withstand external shocks is poor.”
Why is Samsung reportedly going for two different approaches for devices in the same family? It may be that the different aspect ratios place different pressures on the glass which makes the wider version more liable to crack after a drop?
However, as 9to5Google points out, this is a metric Samsung has played around with down the years when attempting to find the right balance for its foldable phones.
The wider aspect ratio for the next-gen Galaxy Z Fold is expected to get ahead of Apple’s entry in the market, which may be called the iPhone Ultra. Samsung’s efforts could be showcased during the next Unpacked event, which is expected to take place on July 22.
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