Later this week will see Samsung announce the next generation of Galaxy Foldables, and it's already been confirmed that these phones will feature a crease-free "Flex Titanium" display for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
This essentially means that Samsung has added extra layers to the display, including a titanium-alloy film and a titanium base plate, which works to reduce crease visibility along the phone.
The display crease is a major talking point this year, thanks to the impending launch of foldable iPhone Ultra. Reports claim that Apple has been rather particular about the crease, to the point where it apparently refused to release a creased foldable. But while the crease-free display is being used as a key selling point by Samsung and Apple, I don't actually care that much. My question now is, do any of you?
My problem with crease-free displays
To call it a "problem" is a little disingenuous, I don't actually dislike the idea of a crease-free foldable display. It's more a case of I'm not so bothered by the presence of a crease, that I think it's worth devoting an enormous amount of time and resources to try and remove it.
It's certainly not such a big deal that you should devote everything to destroying it, and delay the release of your device until it happens.
I get that there are a lot of criticisms about the state of display creases, and have experienced many of them myself. Every foldable I've used has the obvious visual warping along the center of the screen, while many of them also have a noticeable dip when running your finger over it. These problems are irritating and can hamper your experience with a new phone, which is amplified by the fact foldables have such absurdly high price tags.
But at the same time, this is a display that folds in half, and things that fold tend to crease. It doesn't matter whether we're talking about paper, fabric, or whatever else you might want to fold away, a crease is likely to form. So in my mind, the idea of a crease in a foldable phone is just another fact of life.
Obviously we've seen material and industrial design improve to the point that display creases have been minimized quite considerably over the past decade. I don't take issue with this, but I do often wonder what hyperfocus on eliminating the crease does for the rest of the phone. I can't help but wonder whether any other upgrades were missed out on because of it, and whether that would have any meaningful impact on use and performance.
There have been no rumors mentioning the possible return of the S Pen, which was unceremoniously removed from the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to prioritize thickness. Since stylus support is wholly dependent on the display technology, it feels like the kind of thing Samsung could have been working on instead of trying to produce a crease-free display.
What do you want to see from the Z Fold 8 and Unpacked?
That said, the rumors suggest that Samsung is putting a lot of effort into adding upgrades for the Z Fold 8 Ultra — compared to last year's Galaxy Z Fold 7 flagship. Rumors suggest we'll see a bigger battery, a significantly more powerful chipset, faster charging, and possibly even a slimmer design. So it's not like reducing the display crease has come at the cost of other important upgrades.
Obviously I am the kind of person that is immersed in the world of phones almost constantly. My views on what Samsung is doing are going to be very different to the average foldable phone fan that's hoping to buy a Galaxy Z Fold 8 or Z Fold 8 Ultra for themselves.
So what do you think about the display crease? Is eliminating it something you desperately want to see, or would you rather Samsung focus its efforts in other areas — just like me. Drop us a comment below, and tell us what you want to see from Galaxy Unpacked when things kick off later this week.
Considering we are expecting to see three foldables at this year's summer Unpacked, alongside two new smartwatches, this is shaping up to be one of the biggest Galaxy foldable launch events in a long time.
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