How Samsung is getting rid of the crease on the Galaxy Z Fold 8 – new technology confirmed and explained
Samsung has a hard core solution for folding screens
Quick Summary
Samsung has revealed that it's using a new titanium sub-structure for its folding phones.
The new titanium layers are said to reduce the visible crease in the display.
Samsung will be announcing its new portfolio of folding phones on 22 July and there's going to be a change to the display, to reduce the crease and increase durability. Samsung has outlined a new structure for its foldable displays, called Flex Titanium.
While regular displays pose no problem, folding phones have always drawn attention to the fold because of the visible crease. To boost the performance of the folding section of the screen and reduce it, Samsung has turned to titanium.
In the new structure, there's a titanium-alloy film directly behind the OLED panel, replacing a polymer film. Samsung saye that it offers greater mechanical stiffness – up to 20x. This film is said to be a third of the thickness of a human hair.
Beneath the titanium-alloy film is a titanium plate which is flexible, but Samsung says it allows tighter bonding with the rest of the display, eliminating air gaps, and providing more support for the display when unfolded.
Combined, Samsung claims that it "reduces crease visibility", while the OLED panel itself is said to be more efficient with increased performance. Together, the company believes this will set a new standard for folding displays as it looks to fend off rival suppliers BOE.
One thing worth noting, however, is that while these changes take place under the display, the top of the display will still have a protective layer.
I recently wrote about folding phones and their top layer, which is a plastic film. While this can be removed to reveal the ultra-thin glass that sits beneath it, for most phones this will void the warranty and damage the display.
In the past, that top polymer layer has meant that folding displays typically attract lots of reflections, an area where folding screens can't compete with regular displays.
Samsung to launch a trio of folding phones
Samsung is expected to launch three folding phones. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 is expected to be nigh on identical to the Galaxy Z Flip 7, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra is expected to be the same as 2025's Galaxy Z Fold 7.
The device that's going to attract the most attention is the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which is expected to adopt a wider format, opening with a 4:3 display while making some hardware reductions to be more affordable than the "Ultra".
The wider format of folding phone will likely compete with Apple's much-rumoured iPhone Ultra, that's all but certain to arrive in September.
Rumours have also suggested that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 could be the last of that format, although I much prefer the clamshell-style of folding phone for its compact design over the larger book-style devices.
