{"id":778628,"date":"2026-07-22T21:41:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/778628\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T21:41:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:41:30","slug":"why-samsung-gave-its-next-folding-phone-a-new-shape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/778628\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Samsung Gave Its Next Folding Phone a New Shape"},"content":{"rendered":"

A part of what might also help to make these devices more mainstream is the much talked about\u00a0crease. Folding phones have an unavoidable crease in the middle where the hinge sits, and many have voiced their disdain for it. Now, thanks to a new titanium display layer<\/a> that Samsung calls Flex Titanium in the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra, the crease isn\u2019t as noticeable and feels \u201cflatter\u201d than the more obvious ridge in previous models. Apple has reportedly expended significant effort<\/a> in trying to eliminate the crease. The lesser the crease, perhaps the more appealing the phone.<\/p>\n

Samsung says this titanium plate and the titanium-alloy film also help improve durability. And overall, the phone is easier to open and close, though the Fold8 isn\u2019t designed to sit half-open. Blackard expects most users will stick with the cover screen or inner display, and that \u201cFlex Mode\u201d behavior\u2014with the screen open at a 90-degree angle\u2014is something folks using the Fold8 Ultra or Flip8 are more likely to demonstrate.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Samsung also claims the Fold8 is the lightest booklike folding phone on the market, weighing in at a mere 201 grams (32 grams less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max<\/a>). Weight plays a big role in adoption, as many early folding phones were bulky, heavy, and cumbersome to use. Slimming them down and reducing weight makes them significantly more usable, and the value of having much more screen real estate is easy to appreciate.<\/p>\n

Blackard isn\u2019t worried about Apple\u2019s foray into its territory. He says more competition brings visibility to the category\u2014people may know what a folding phone is today, but many haven\u2019t seen or actually used one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more there is out there, the more people will be familiar with the form factor,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen it comes to their decision, we can rely on the fact that this is our eighth generation. Obviously, first generations tend to go through hiccups<\/a>.\u201d He also points out that Samsung has a portfolio of devices for consumers to choose from rather than just one.<\/p>\n

While others\u2014like Motorola<\/a> and Huawei\u2014have chipped away<\/a> at Samsung\u2019s foldable dominance, particularly in the US and China, Samsung\u2019s biggest challenge will be the folding iPhone rumored to arrive as soon as this September<\/a>. The device could swoop in and take nearly 30 percent of global foldable shipments in 2026, according to IDC forecasts, potentially catapulting Apple as the largest player in the category on the strength of that one device.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

The Galaxy Z Fold8 (left), the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra (middle), and the Galaxy Z Flip8 (right).<\/p>\n

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A part of what might also help to make these devices more mainstream is the much talked about\u00a0crease.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[517,190486,166,4536,12074,170,4326,3053,74],"class_list":["post-778628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-apple","tag-folding-devices","tag-gadgets","tag-iphone","tag-phones","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-galaxy","tag-smartphones","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}