Samsung unveils Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, dumps S Pen for lighter, thinner and hybrid rear design

Three months after announcing the Galaxy Z Fold6 at its Paris Unpacked keynote, and after rumours reported here and here, Samsung today unveiled an upgraded variant known as the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition.

Compared to the standard model, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is 1.5mm thinner and 3g lighter. This makes it the thinnest and lighest foldable model in the Galaxy Z lineup. It may not be as thin as some of its competitors, but as the comparison table below outlines the Samsung Galaxy Fold lineup evolution, it has come a long way.

The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition also has the widest screen in the lineup; its 8.0-inch main screen comes with a 20:18 ratio when unfolded while the 6.5-inch cover display has a 21:9 aspect ratio. Both displays are slightly bigger than the standard model, and more importantly, sports the largest dual displays on any foldable phone. Google Pixel 9 Fold comes close to match the inner screen size, but loses out on the outer screen size.

In terms of aesthetics, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition differentiates itself from the standard model with a striped pattern on the back made of a combination of metal and glass.

The rear camera module has also been redesigned to be more rectangular, but more crucially, the main camera is upgraded from 50MP on the standard model to a 200MP sensor. At this point of time, it's not clear if it will match the same camera sensor and lens found on the Samsung S24 Ultra, but one can hope. We'll update this story when there's more clarity after it's officially available.

Other upgrades include 16GB built-in memory (up from 12GB on the standard model), a single 512GB storage capacity option, and Wi-Fi 7 support (vs Wi-Fi 6E on the standard model).

The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is powered by the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy and Galaxy AI as the standard model, but does not come with S Pen support.

 

Availability and Pricing

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is currently only available in South Korea from 25 October. It is priced at 2,789,600 won (~S$2,656). There is no word of its international availability at the time of reporting.

We are proud to present this new product in Korea as a gesture of gratitude to domestic consumers who are leading the foldable market. - Sung-Taek Lim, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Korea.

Source: Samsung via Android Authority

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