Samsung is working on a new foldable smartphone with a thinner profile than the Galaxy Z Fold 6. While early rumors referred to it as the Fold 6 Slim or Ultra, a tipster recently claimed it would launch as the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. The same source has now revealed its thickness and display sizes. As expected, the Special Edition Fold is substantially thinner and bigger than the Fold 6.
Samsung’s upcoming slim foldable is less than 5mm thick when unfolded
Evan Blass, a prolific leaker with an excellent track record of Samsung leaks, says the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition will measure 10.6mm in thickness when folded and 4.9mm when unfolded. In comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 12.1mm and 5.6mm. Blass also confirmed rumors that the upcoming foldable has an 8-inch folding display and a 6.5-inch cover display, larger than the Fold 6’s 7.6-inch and 6.3-inch screens.
Samsung also aims to make the new device lighter. The Korean behemoth has removed the S Pen digitizer from the display assembly (the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition lacks S Pen support) and reportedly switched to a titanium backplate from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) to reduce its weight and thickness. However, we don’t yet have a number to report. The standard Fold 6 weighs 239 grams.
Despite its best efforts, Samsung couldn’t manage to make the device as slim as its Chinese rivals. Honor’s Magic V3 is 9.2mm (folded) and 4.4mm (unfolded) thick while Xiaomi’s Mix Fold 4 is 9.5mm (folded) and 4.6mm (unfolded) thick. Both foldables weigh 226 grams. Maybe Samsung could undercut them on weight. It depends on the batter size, though. The two Chinese foldables pack 5,150mAh and 5,100mAh batteries, respectively.
Samsung plans to release the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition in China and South Korea at the end of September. As of this writing, there is no word on its availability anywhere else. The company aims to compete against its Chinese rivals, which don’t sell foldable phones in most global markets. It remains to be seen if the efforts pay off. If it does, maybe we’ll see a second-gen model next year with a wider release.
