Here’s Samsung’s Advice for Apple and Its Upcoming Folding iPhone Leave a comment

On the eve of Apple’s extremely anticipated folding iPhone, Samsung isn’t feeling threatened. As an alternative, the folding smartphone pioneer says the competitors is “completely welcome.”

That’s in accordance with Hee-Cheul Moon, head of Samsung’s Superior Mechanical R&D Group, who sat with WIRED on a digital Zoom name with Seungki Choi, head of Samsung’s Smartphone R&D Group. Earlier than the speak veered towards Apple, the pair spoke about how the corporate managed to shave 75 grams off the load of its newest Galaxy Z Fold8 within the seven years because it debuted the unique.

Weight is integral to a folding telephone’s success. If the gadget is just too chunky and heavy, you’re much less more likely to wish to use it. Over the previous two years, folding gadgets from Honor, Google, and Samsung have quickly gotten lighter, with every iteration that includes thinner designs. It could be why Samsung noticed preorders for its newest folding handsets enhance 30 p.c globally versus final yr’s fashions, with the Fold8—the gadget with a brand new smaller form that’s simpler to carry—accounting for almost half.

“Seeing these different manufacturers coming into the market, we really feel very happy with ourselves that the worth that we pioneered with this new class of foldables is being acknowledged and acknowledged,” Moon says via a translator.

Once I requested what recommendation the corporate had for Apple forward of its folding debut, Moon mentioned, “The important thing to offering the best buyer worth on this market is all in regards to the weight of the gadget. As you understand, it’s not straightforward.” Apple’s folding iPhone, rumored to be referred to as the iPhone Extremely, is predicted to weigh between 230 and 241 grams (the iPhone 17 Professional Max weighs 233 grams), heftier than Samsung’s newest.

Samsung has made notable strides this yr in making its most important Galaxy Z Fold8 smartphone lighter than top-end candybar-shaped smartphones. The only-screen Galaxy S26 Extremely weighs 214 grams, however the Fold8 is merely 201 grams, due to its smaller, passport-style form. The corporate says its personal buyer knowledge and YouGov survey knowledge from 2024 present that cumbersome designs had been a chief concern for individuals tired of folding telephones.

The corporate says it analyzed each single element within the newest Fold8 and Fold8 Extremely—roughly 270 elements and greater than 180 auxiliary components—from circuit boards and antennas to tapes and fastening elements.

The staff regarded in all places to chop weight. For instance, it redesigned the printed circuit board to take away pointless circuits and enhance element structure, lowering the area requirement. Samsung says it even eradicated 15 auxiliary components and machined the interior show assist plate all the way down to roughly 0.2 millimeters. To maintain that thinner panel sturdy, Samsung developed its “Flex Titanium” display screen—a titanium alloy movie roughly one-third the width of a human hair designed to keep up floor flatness and hold the crease from worsening over years of folding.