There have been many rumors over the years about Samsung possibly adopting a stainless steel frame for its flagship smartphones, but those rumors never came true. The aluminum frame on Samsung's flagship phones makes them among the most durable devices on the market, but Apple has had a slight upper hand when it comes to how premium a phone feels thanks to the stainless steel frame on iPhones launched over the last few years.
However, stainless steel tends to make a device heavier, which might be why Samsung never actually used it for its smartphones. And it seems the Korean giant is now planning to directly jump to a titanium frame. A cryptic tweet by leaker Ice universe suggests that Samsung will adopt titanium for the frame on the Galaxy S24 series.
If true, it would mean both Apple and Samsung will use a titanium frame for their next flagship smartphones (the two companies have used titanium on their smartwatches before). Yes, Apple is also rumored to be adopting titanium for some iPhone 15 models (the Pro and Pro Max) that will launch later this year, and it seems Samsung doesn't want to be left behind this time around.
As mentioned above, stainless steel is stronger than aluminum but is heavier, which is where titanium becomes an excellent alternative. Titanium is also heavier than aluminium, but its superior strength-to-weight ratio should balance things out. Unfortunately, titanium is nearly 10 times costlier than aluminum, so Samsung might just use a titanium frame for the Galaxy S24 Ultra to keep prices down.
Of course, it's possible this rumor will end up being just a rumor and Samsung will stick with its Armor Aluminum design for the entire Galaxy S24 lineup while keeping an upgrade to titanium for a later flagship. It's a little early for us to be taking leaked Galaxy S24 details too seriously, though we will be watching with interest how the pieces of the puzzle fall into place over the coming months.
For now, we're looking forward to sharing our experience with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Galaxy Z Flip 5 with you in the coming days. Samsung's new foldables (which sport an aluminum frame) are going on sale on August 11 in most markets, and you can pre-order them now to get excellent pre-order benefits, including a $50 credit.