Samsung is working on a surprise third version of next year’s Galaxy Fold, according to a new report.
Galaxy Club claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 7, which is likely to be released next summer, has been codenamed “Q7”, while the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has been given the working title of “B7”. But there is a codename for one more unknown device: “Q7M”.
Galaxy Club doesn’t have any more details about the mysterious device, but the name suggests that it is a variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Samsung has repeatedly demoed different foldable concepts at tradeshows over the years, recently showing off rollable displays, slide-out screens and laptops that double as giant tablets.
In an interview with TM Roh, Samsung’s head of mobile hinted to CNBC that the company is working on new foldable shapes. “At the time when the hardware completeness and software and content integrity, the ecosystem comes to full maturity, we’ll be forced to introduce very satisfying and very almost perfect foldable new form factors in new product categories” Roh said.
Rumors suggest that Samsung has developed a tri-fold smartphone (a device that can be folded twice) to compete with Huawei’s Mate XT. According to ZDNet Korea, the device has been developed and it is ready to be mass-produced, but the company hasn’t made a decision on whether it will be released.
The Q7M codename may represent Samsung’s first tri-fold phone, but the recent release of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE seems a more likely explanation. Samsung has released an updated version of the Fold 6 with an improved 200MP camera, a bigger screen, 16GB of RAM and a lighter, slimmer design. This “special edition” phone is only available in China and South Korea.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE release in select markets could be a test run for the long-rumored Ultra Fold variant. Despite Samsung being open about prototyping different foldable concepts, its actual releases have been fairly measured. Sticking with the clamshell and flip designs for six straight iterations and improving them gradually with every release.
Galaxy Fold fans have long called for a bigger screen and a camera that competes with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The QM7 could be the device that gives fans what they want, while introducing a new product into Samsung’s line-up without taking a big gamble on a tri-folding phone that could look gimmicky—an image Samsung has desperately tried to shed over the years.
