I've been a very vocal supporter of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series. I've been a convert since the day Samsung released the first foldable smartphone. No other phone, not even Samsung's otherwise very capable Galaxy S Ultra models, have come close to the user experience the Galaxy Z Fold phones have made possible for me.
However, there were always a few issues that left a bit to be desired from the user experience on Samsung's most expensive phones. They have a long list of positives, such as the large foldable display with S Pen support, efficient software features, and improved durability with every iteration.
The areas where I felt improvements could be made, and it was mind-blogging why they were even as the lineup matured significantly over the years, were the cover display and the camera. This rang true much more after I got to use some foldable phones from China at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Chinese had seen what Samsung was doing and they took a slightly different approach. After using the new Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, it became evident that they were right about having a wider cover display. The same goes for the camera, while those OEMs opted for more capable camera setups, Samsung made it clear that providing the best camera experience wasn't a priority for the Galaxy Z Fold series.
Oddly enough, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition feels like the most accurate representation of what I imagine a perfect Galaxy Z Fold phone should be. Even with the wider aspect ratio for the cover and foldable display, the device doesn't feel unwieldy in the hand. On the contrary, I love the way it looks and how Samsung has improved upon the fit and finish to deliver a very premium feel in the hand, one that surpasses this year's Galaxy Z Fold 6. You don't even feel the crease anymore!
To me, it's inexcusable that after making it abundantly clear that we shouldn't expect more than a middle-of-the-road camera experience from the $1,800 Galaxy Z Fold phones, Samsung turns around and launches a variant that shows us what the camera experience could be on those phones, only if Samsung decided to give its customers what they want.
For those who're unaware, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition has a 200-megapixel primary sensor compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6's 50-megapixel. It leaves a proverbial bad taste in the mouth, making me feel as if Samsung made me use a phone made with its old inventory of parts when it could have just brought these upgrades to the Galaxy Z Fold 6 in the first place.
One of my colleagues here calls this new variant the “Galaxy Z Fold Scam Edition,” and I would agree to an extent. For Samsung to launch an obviously superior variant merely a few months after the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is akin to a slap in the face to everyone who's spent a minor fortune on that phone. The company knew that it would face a lot of backlash if this variant was sold globally which is probably why it's only selling the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition in South Korea and China.
It's entirely possible that many customers may not even hear about this device, because there's no marketing push behind it in any other country other than those two. On balance, though, it begs the question that should the focus not be providing every customer the best Galaxy Z Fold experience possible?
The company has clearly been holding some things back and if it has the capability to make such major improvements to its marquee foldable, why isn't it doing it for the primary lineup? That's a question I'm still searching the answer to.
