Samsung’s just launched the Galaxy Z Fold7, which is its thinnest and lightest book-style foldable yet. Today in Samsung’s home of Korea there are already rumors about its successor, the Galaxy Z Fold8, which, if nothing changes in Samsung’s usual schedule, should be launching next July.
The company is now said to be considering both titanium and carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) for the backplate material for the Fold8. That’s notable because the Fold7’s predecessors from the Galaxy Z Fold3 onwards have used CFRP, but the Fold7 itself has switched to titanium, first seen in the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition from last year.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7
Titanium was used in the Fold7 to reduce thickness, and along with the removal of the digitizer for the S Pen, this has cut it down by 0.6mm. However, metals can possibly interfere with the S Pen, at least the electromagnetic resonance based tech that Samsung has been using.
The company is currently said to be developing a technology to make the digitizer slimmer, and thus reintroduce S Pen support – perhaps as soon as next year. Demand for this is apparently quite strong. Samsung may even adopt a digitizer-less technology, such as the active electrostatic solution employed by the Apple Pencil, in which case it can safely continue to use metal backplates with no fear of interference.
Another reason why it’s testing an alternative to titanium has to do with supply-related concerns especially regarding the US tariff war. Samsung basically wants to make sure sudden changes in supply chains don’t catch it off guard. Of course we are still very far away from the Fold8’s launch, so a lot of things can change. We’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, don’t miss our Galaxy Z Fold7 review, it’s freshly published.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7
Source (in Korean)