Samsung has a new foldable in the pipeline, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim. It’s still uncertain if that will be the official name of the phone, but rumors and leaks strongly suggest it will be slimmer and lighter than the Fold 6. A new report from the Korean media says the company plans to use a titanium backplate to reduce its weight while maintaining strength and durability.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim to feature a titanium backplate
Foldable phones use a support structure between the folding screen and the hinge. Companies call it a backplate. Samsung uses a stainless steel backplate in its Flip series phones, but the Fold series has a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) backplate. The first couple of models used stainless steel but the introduction of the S Pen on the Fold 3 forced the change.
The S Pen requires a digitizer, adding another layer to the display assembly. More importantly, a metallic backplate can interfere with the S Pen signals, so Samsung switched to CFRP. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim lacks S Pen support, so the company is returning to a metallic backplate. And instead of stainless steel, it is using titanium, which is lighter but stronger.
While titanium is more difficult to cut and process, Samsung considered it to ensure a thinner and lighter build for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim. It has already completed the development of a titanium backplate for the new foldable. However, the company is still on the fence about its mass production because of the technical challenges. A decision is expected soon as the device nears production.
Featuring an 8-inch main display and a 6.5-inch cover display, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim is bigger than the standard Fold 6 (7.6-inch and 6.3-inch). It is also substantially thinner, with an expected thickness of around 11mm (the Fold 6 is 12.1mm thick when folded). The upcoming slim foldable should also weigh much less than the standard model’s 239 grams.
It may not launch globally
Samsung is preparing the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim as an answer to ultra-slim foldables from Chinese brands like Huawei, Honor, Oppo, and Vivo. Since these companies mostly sell their foldables domestically, the Korean firm doesn’t plan to widely release its Slim model. The device may only launch in China and South Korea. Samsung doesn’t want to cannibalize its Galaxy Z Fold 6 sales by bringing the Slim model to other markets. Hopefully, it will implement the learnings to make the Galaxy Z Fold 7 slimmer.
