Samsung has just announced its latest foldable Galaxy smartphone that brings several upgrades over the existing Z Fold 6, but British Samsung fans could be left frustrated as the premium device may not end up being sold in the UK.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is now official after several leaks but the high-end book-style foldable is currently only going to be sold in Samsung’s home country of South Korea.
This new phone comes only three months after the release of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, a phone we were impressed with thanks to solid build quality and good software, but one whose high price – £1,799 – made it difficult to recommend to most people.
It was also a phone that barely changed anything over the Z Fold 5. But the Z Fold Special Edition (which ditches a number from its official name) makes more significant changes including increasing the outer screen to 6.5-inches and the inner to 8-inches, an increase over the 6.3 and 7.6 respectively on the Z Fold 6.
Samsung also says the Special Edition is 1.5mm thinner and 3g lighter. That much slimming down doesn’t sound like much, but even one millimetre can make a difference on handheld devices.
There’s also a big boost to the camera, with Samsung adding a 200MP main camera, beating out the 50MP main lens on the Z Fold 6 (that was also on the Z Fold 5 and Z Fold 4). This puts it in line with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s excellent main shooter, however the Special Edition doesn’t get big upgrades to its other two cameras, sticking with a 10MP 3x optical zoom and 12MP ultra-wide.
Inside is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy chipset along with 16GB RAM, the latter a boost over the standard 12GB in the Z Fold 6 – though we’ve got one eye on the expected Galaxy S25 series which is expected to have the just-announced Snapdragon 8 Elite chip.
The Z Fold Special Edition starts from 2,789,600 won in South Korea, which is about £1,555. If the phone ever came to these shores though, you can bet it would cost more than that as international pricing often differs from the direct conversion.
“We are proud to present this new product in Korea as a gesture of gratitude to domestic consumers who are leading the foldable market,” said Sung-Taek Lim, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Korea. “The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition provides a slim and light foldable experience, and is a product with a sophisticated design with elaborate patterns and deep colours.”
Even though it looks as though UK Android fans will miss out on the opportunity to buy the Z Fold Special Edition, it makes us feel that this is what the Galaxy Z Fold 6 should have been. Debuting this phone just three months after the original means Samsung must have been developing them simultaneously.
Releasing this thinner, lighter Z Fold with larger displays and a better camera instead of the Z Fold 6 in the first place would have helped no end to help Samsung keep up with rival phones such as the Honor Magic V3 and Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, two phones that have better design and cameras than the Fold 6.
If you want to get your hands on this superior Samsung smartphone, you’re going to have to pay over the odds to import one.
