By now, most Samsung fans have heard about the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition (SE). Actually, scratch that. There’s a good chance not everyone is aware of this device, and that’s understandable. The Galaxy Z Fold SE is exclusive to Korea and China, and Samsung doesn't plan to bring it to other markets.Summarize in one-click with Galaxy AI
The Galaxy Z Fold SE isn’t a big upgrade over the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The main draw of this edition are the larger and wider cover and foldable displays. The cover display is particularly important here. The Fold SE is the closest a Samsung foldable has come to feeling like a regular phone on the outside.
But while it’s good to see Samsung finally addressing complaints of the cover displays on Galaxy Z Fold smartphones feeling too cramped and offering features like 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM as standard, the Galaxy Z Fold SE is a problematic device in more ways than one.
The Galaxy Z Fold SE is a slap in the face for Galaxy Z Fold 6 buyers
The first problem is the fact that the Galaxy Z Fold SE is coming so soon after the Fold 6. Samsung gave no indication that a newer model will follow the Fold 6 just three months later. It's incredibly unfair to those who have been asking for a Galaxy Z Fold with wider, larger displays on the inside and outside but decided to settle for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 thinking that’s the only option they have at this time.
This was clearly a calculated move by Samsung. It knew Galaxy Z Fold 6 sales would have suffered if people had been aware that the Galaxy Z Fold SE will be out in a few months. It’s probably also a reason for why the SE is restricted to two markets. Making it available globally would have resulted in swift backlash from a larger portion of the customer base.
But what’s even more insulting is that Samsung has brought all the wrong and unnecessary upgrades with the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. That's in addition to taking out a feature that differentiated Galaxy Z Fold smartphones from the competition.
You may already have guessed the missing feature: the Fold SE does not support the S Pen. There are apparently technical reasons behind this, but that doesn’t make it any less acceptable. Larger displays make the S Pen experience better, but right as the displays got bigger, Samsung took away stylus support.
As far as unnecessary upgrades are concerned, there’s the 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage as standard. I mean, more RAM and storage are always appreciated, but they aren’t must-haves, at least not when the mandate for Samsung was to address shortcomings, not fix what wasn’t broken.
The 200-megapixel primary camera is the most egregious example of Samsung not having its priorities straight. The 50MP primary cameras on previous models were already excellent, and while the 200MP camera does offer improvements, they are too minor to matter at the end of the day.
The Special Edition doesn't upgrade the right components
What the Galaxy Z Fold lineup needs, and has needed since day one, is a better zoom camera. But the SE has a 3x telephoto lens that you can find on devices almost four times less expensive. Yes, I’m talking about the Galaxy S Fan Edition smartphones. Those have a slightly lower-resolution zoom camera, but in the real world, image quality is similar to that of the 3x camera used in the Fold lineup.
The lack of a stronger telephoto camera can also be attributed to technical/physical limitations. The long-range 5x or 10x sensors Samsung uses on the Galaxy S Ultra smartphones require more space. The Z Fold SE is considerably thinner than the Fold 6 whether folded or unfolded, so Samsung might have had issues making room for a more powerful zoom camera.
It’s also disappointing that the battery capacity hasn’t changed. A 4,400 mAh battery is too low for a flagship smartphone with an 8-inch display. Samsung manages to extract amazing endurance from that battery thanks to software optimization (Qualcomm’s efficient chips help, too), but batteries degrade over time, and for a device that will get software updates for seven years, a 4,400 mAh battery just doesn’t cut it.
It gives me no pleasure, as a fan, to call a Samsung product a scam. But I just can’t help it where the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is concerned. There's very little that's special on this foldable, and other than as a means for Samsung to test the waters and gauge demand for a bigger and thinner Galaxy Z Fold, it doesn't have a reason to exist.
