Samsung’s Multi-Fold Might See Limited Release
Back on January 5th, I posted an article detailing a patent that seemed to reveal the design for Samsung's upcoming Multi-Fold device. The patent showed a device that looked a lot like a Z Fold6, but with an extra wing attached to the opposite side.
Unlike the Huawei Mate XT, this device also seems to fold both sides inwards rather than in an in-an-out configuration. This means that Samsung’s device will keep the fragile folding screen folded up and facing inwards, protected from the outside world. To use the device closed, a cover display is used.
Then in February, Tech leaker @PandaFlashPro shared a blurred image which they claimed was a render of this upcoming Samsung multi-fold device. Their render looked strikingly similar to the patent I had surfaced a month prior, even if they had blurred it in an attempt to avoid Samsung’s litigious ire.
Galaxy G Fold
To this point that patent and render was just about all we knew about this device, now being called the Galaxy G Fold. Now, Phandroid has been able to confirm that the G Fold not only carried the Q7M codename, but that the model number is SM-F968, with regional variants SM-F968N (South Korea) and SM-F9680 (China). These listings were apparently spotted in a GSMA database.
The concerning thing here is that the only two regions spotted were South Korea and China, much like last year’s Z Fold Special Edition. While this does not mean that a global release is impossible, it does make it much less likely. If Samsung follows the path they just took with the SE, I would bet this thing launches in South Korea and China and if things go well, it’ll see a broader release.
As recently as March 6th, inside Ross Young has stated that he expects this device to launch in Q3 or Q4 of this year.