Fans of the best foldable phones on the market have a lot to love. The market is packed full of great devices from a wide array of brands, making it easy to pick up something which fits your needs.
We're big fans of the OnePlus Open here at T3, while other models like the Honor Magic V3 and the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold have earned favour in recent times. It's a market where Samsung phones don't quite dominate like they have among the fight for best Android phones.
It's not entirely hard to see why. While the brand has a lot of equity, having been one of the first recognisable brand names in the space, their design really hasn't progressed in the same way as other brands.
That Honor handset is just 9.3mm thick when folded – still currently the thinnest foldable handset on the market – which is a lightyear away from what the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 can offer. Add in a slightly unusual aspect ratio and the whole thing is left feeling a little too abnormal for most people.
Enter the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Special Edition.
That device was announced last week, with a wide array of improvements. Thinner and lighter than the standard model, with a 200MP main camera on the rear and a much more traditional aspect ratio on offer, this seems like the Samsung foldable which fans have been crying out for.
That proved true on the launch day, too. After some initial problems with the site, the device eventually went on sale – and promptly sold out after just ten minutes. If ever there was a marker for a device being popular, that is it.
I'm hoping that can resonate with Samsung and influence some of their thinking going forward. For too long, the brand has rested on its current design language to the detriment of the overall product.
This special edition model is proof that the brand can make a truly wonderful foldable phone. Okay, the 10.6mm thickness still isn't a patch on other handsets, but you can forgive that when other parts have been given such a boost. For me, the next-gen Z Fold 7 needs to be at least on par with this if Samsung are to keep themselves in the fight .
