Galaxy Z Fold 7 Rumors Indicate No One Knows Anything
The tech world thrives on rumors. Every year, the anticipation for Samsung's latest foldable, the Z Fold, reaches a fever pitch as leaks, speculation, and alleged insider information flood the internet. Yet, time and time again, we've seen these reports turn out to be half truths or even whole lies. The Z Fold 6 is no exception. Leading up to its release, we were bombarded with a cacophony of conflicting reports, wildly varying renders, and feature wishlists masquerading as confirmed specs. Now, as the dust settles and we look towards the Z Fold 7, a familiar pattern seems to be emerging. Buckle up, because it looks like we're in for another wild ride of misinformation and misdirection as the rumor mill churns into overdrive.
Galaxy Z Fold 6
In November of 2023 a patent was revealed that seemed to indicate Samsung was working on a Z Fold with a wider cover display. Using this patent some renders were made that certainly seemed promising for those of us who wanted a Z Fold with a normal aspect ratio for non-tablet use. It seemed like this rumor was subsequently backed up by fairly reputable leaker Ice Universe on Twitter.
Months later, another reputable leaker OnLeaks revealed renders for the Z Fold 6 that turned out to be much more accurate and these renders were indeed slightly wider, but not nearly as wide as what we saw in the earlier renders. It’s entirely possible that Ice Universe was not agreeing with the extra-wide renders, but talking about the small change that would actually come. With so many things being said and leakers often needing to remain a bit vague, it’s very hard to ascertain exactly what is being said or implied and attempts to “read the tea leaves” often leads you down a path that ends up being the wrong one. Lesson learned there.
Cheaper or More Premium?
Around the same time as this we were hearing rumors about a second Z Fold 6 model that was allegedly coming as well. We had reports from TheElec that a cheaper Z Fold was in the works. Then we were told by WinFuture that a more premium version was what was actually coming. SisaJournal doubled down on the budget model, going as far as talking prices. Amid all this disagreement, all we really knew was that there was a third codename for the foldable devices - Q6A and that should mean a second Z Fold was coming. Would it be cheaper or more expensive? No one seemed to have a clue.
In the end, it turned out that Q6A was the Z Fold Special edition, a device that looks a bit like that first render. Larger screens, 200MP camera and a higher price tag. It’s hard to understand how so many sources got this so wrong. Were they just making up this cheaper model, essentially writing what they wanted to see or was there some underlying truth? Personally, I think this is a bit like a group of people identifying an elephant in the dark. One touches the trunk and thinks snake, another touches a leg and thinks tree, etc, etc. Perhaps some leakers saw the removal of the S Pen digitizer and saw cheaper model, while others saw the thinner body and improved camera and saw premium model. At the end of the day, it’s hard to say.
The Same Old Story..
Now with the upcoming Z Fold 7 it feels like we’re going down this exact same path again. We know there’s a codename for a second Z Fold, but we don’t honestly know anymore than that. Rather than Q7A, this new codename is Q7M. What exactly this indicates is hard to say. It could be the Special Edition again, this time reaching new regions or it could be something entirely different. We’ve already saw it said by Ross Young that the Z Fold 6 would be “basically the Z Fold Special Edition” and that Samsung was working on new S Pen tech to make the Fold 7 even thinner.
I’ll also say that Ross Young has been quite accurate over the years, but he’s recently backtracked on the existence of a Z Fold 7 SE saying that it’s not coming and a tri-fold device is in the works for 2026. This is tough for me to believe given the Q7M codename existing, but who knows.
At the same time, TheElec is back again to say that the Fold 7 would be more or less the same as the Fold 6 with the bigger changes coming with the Fold 8 in 2026. So which is it? Is the Z Fold 7 going to be thinner, larger and using a new S Pen tech or will it be basically the Z Fold 6 with some minor changes? Depends on who you’re asking. For me, it’s just not worth it to keep chasing these conflicting reports from sources who had half the truth or were mostly wrong last year. Until Ice Universe or OnLeaks talks, take these reports with a heaping grain of salt.