2024 was a thought-provoking year for Samsung as its smartphone batting order has fallen stale just as it face more competition in every smartphone segment than ever before . TheGoogle Pixel 8aandOnePlus 12Rchallenge the Galaxy A , while the Galaxy S24 serial faces challenges in every key market .
Then there ’s the folding batting order , and it ’s where Samsung has improvement to make . The troupe made folding phones mainstream , but while it drove much of the initial conception , the competition has start to surpass it . TheOnePlus Openproved that there was an option to Samsung ’s prowess in multitasking , and theGalaxy Z Fold 6did little to dissipate that notion last year . At the same clip , Google made a much easily foldable with thePixel 9 Pro Fold ; Honor proved thatyou can have a slender foldable with a enceinte electric battery , and Motorola proved thatit can outdo Samsung on the flip front .
How does Samsung spring back ? Here are five things the caller can do to improve its folding phone lineup in 2025 .
Change the form factor of the Fold
The first Galaxy Fold kicked off an experimentation : do customers want a taller and narrower folding phone or one more akin to a passport size and form factor ? The answer is much closer to the latter , and six generations in , it ’s secure to say that Samsung needs to change the class constituent of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 .
Each sequential generation of the Fold bring in us a thinner and lighter twist , but the overall form cistron has n’t alter . The key thing that makes the OnePlus Open , Honor Magic V3 , and Pixel 9 Pro Fold better is that the front covert is more consanguine to the sizing of a regular smartphone . Meanwhile , the front screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is more kindred to Sony smartphones , which have used a taller form agent for years .
I have every Galaxy Fold , and the front screen experience has significantly ameliorate , but after using the competition , it ’s much harder to transition back to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 . I hope that Samsung finally locomote on rather of going even magniloquent and wide like theGalaxy Z Fold Special Edition .
Thinner, lighter, and curvier
The Special Edition foldable released in 2024 does usher in a light and thinner era for Samsung . It ’s 1.5 millimetre thinner than the regular Galaxy Z Fold 6 and weighs 3 grams less , and while this is a welcome melioration , the competition still beats it .
That said , the improvement in the Z Fold Special Edition are considerable . At 4.9 millimeter sparse when unfold , it ’s 0.2 mm thin than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold . It ’s still 0.5 mm thicker than the Honor Magic V3 but on par with the repose of the competition .
As part of changing the class factor , I hope that Samsung integrates subtle curved shape and rounded edges into the overall design . The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is extremely boxy — a innovation that is n’t necessarily a negative — but the three key competitors experience far nicer in the bridge player . As we move into rollable and tri - close phones , there ’s never been a honorable time to also focus on the in - hand experience .
Improve the cameras
think this : the Galaxy S24 Ultra has an outstanding camera with excellent soar , but the Galaxy Z Fold 6 have the same tv camera as the more affordableGalaxy S24 . This is more significative of the diligence as a whole , but the Honor Magic V3 proved it ’s possible to have three very open television camera .
Samsung has n’t changed the television camera on the Galaxy Z Fold card since the Galaxy Z Fold 4 . While there are improvements through elusive sensor change or algorithms provide by the Snapdragon chipset , it ’s fundamentally the same tv camera lot .
This is how Samsung ’s tv camera stack compares to the key competition :
My frustrations with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 often amount down to the cameras , and while they ’re perfectly fine , I recall they should be much good . Samsung needs to turn in more on the camera front , especially as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold lineament similar television camera hardware but outperforms the Galaxy Z Fold 6 . It ’s been three years of the same camera tidy sum , so it ’s sentence for Samsung to make a big improvement in 2025 .
Supercharge the battery and charging
Of of course , I ’m hoping Samsung fixes everything , which admit its approach to battery and charging . Since a fairly substantial setback with batteries on the Galaxy Note , the company has been risk - averse when it comes to pushing power into its smartphones .
Here ’s how the Galaxy Z Fold 6 liken to the master competition in the U.S. and other cardinal markets :
Then we seem further afield and see how it compares to devices that have much more limited availability :
The only phone that Samsung matches is the Google Pixel 9 Pro crease , although I hope that Google will improve that in 2025 , too . Outside the U.S. , Samsung faces vast competition and has the pocket-size barrage fire and slowest charging .
Crucially , the value proposal has convert , especially considering theTecno Phantom V Fold 2has a bigger battery and explosive charge quicker despite being almost half the price . The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is still compelling , but with each competitor , it becomes strong to commend .
In case you were wondering , it ’s not just the Galaxy Z Fold 6 but the intact Galaxy lineup , including the Galaxy Z Flip 6 . Here ’s how Samsung ’s flip - foldaway compares .
The tabular array above reveals a couple of interesting point . First , there are more flip phone without wireless charging than with , but the two available in the U.S. — theGalaxy Z Flip 6andMotorola Razr Plus 2024 — both patronage 15W wireless charging . Both feature the same battery capability , but the Motorola Razr Plus wire thrill much faster . It ’s a central part of the overall experience , and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is considerably slower .
Outside the U.S. , both phones are shadow by the upright from Oppo , Xiaomi , Honor , and Tecno . None of these phone stand wireless charging , but Xiaomi , Honor , and Tecno all buck well quicker than Samsung . Ultimately , it is n’t just about the speed ; Samsung needs to amend the delta between it and the competition .
Unpack our tri-folding and rollable futures
For many years , the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip have offer compelling experience , and while they continue to do so , they no longer provide the only experience you should buy . The competition is tearing in foldables as we make out them now , so while Samsung needs to improve its current lineup , it also require to focus on the next generation of folding phones .
I ’ve seen conception sound with a tri - foldable covert from many company , include Samsung itself , and Huawei has already set in motion thefirst commercial tri - fold smartphone . company like Tecno are working to bring wheeling equipment to the mart , while we ’ve also seen Lenovo and Motorola , severally , show off concept laptops andphones with rollable showing . Samsung is likely working on its response to blow up displays , but will it last unveil these this year ?
Regardless , the Galaxy Z range still offer a dandy overall experience , and the S Pen is unmatchable , but there ’s a lot of contention — and it ’s only getting tough . Samsung needs to take out the secret to innovation in its foldables again and quick . It ’s already doing it on the software front with an excellent inspection and repair to its software inOne UI 7 ; now , the hardware demand to adopt .
