There haven't been many rumors about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, but I'm already tentatively excited about it. And the reason is titanium.
Yes, I've already talked about how I think titanium is pretty good on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and Galaxy S24 Ultra, having initially thought of it as a mild marketing gimmick. But the more I think about what's next for smartphones, the more I feel like titanium is going to be a big deal in foldable phones.
Despite using an iPhone 15 Pro Max as my main phone, I love foldable phones. The OnePlus Open is very stylish and deserves a spot on our list of the best foldable phones, but for the most part I've been a long-time Galaxy Fold user.
There's still a long way to go to make foldable phones mainstream devices, but they're still big rectangles of technology capable of pulling double duty as feature-packed smartphones and compact tablets. For me, they are great devices for taking notes, playing games, and reading digital books and magazines.
However, I never committed to inserting my SIM card into a Galaxy Fold, despite the evolution of Samsung's flagship foldable phone. The reason is tedious: they are too heavy and bulky.
Sure, phones are big these days, but I don't like the idea of carrying a thick phone in my pocket and having people wonder if I'm too happy to see them.
Wrapping the next-generation Galaxy Z Fold in titanium could be a solution to this… problem. Not only is titanium noticeably lighter than aluminum, it's also stronger, meaning the paranoia of dropping a foldable phone to its destination could be reduced.
This would make the phone easier to use with one hand when folded and lighter to hold when used unfolded as an e-reader.
My hope is that titanium can be used in conjunction with possible advances in hinge mechanisms, batteries, and foldable displays to create a foldable Galaxy phone that is noticeably thinner than its predecessors. So far, rumors don't indicate that the Galaxy Z Fold 6 could be much thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 5, but I'm hopeful.
Making a Galaxy Z Fold phone that's a little thinner and lighter than the previous one might be enough to get me to fully commit to a foldable phone. And that at least generates some excitement in a mind tired of the slowdown in smartphone innovation.
AI Folding
Ok, look, I'm not that basic.
Titanium isn't the only thing about the Galaxy S24 Ultra that interests me in the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It's also the possible adoption of generative AI tools in Samsung's next-generation foldable phone.
I've been impressed with how AI-powered features like Circle to Search work on the Galaxy S24 family. And the camera and photo generative editing tool has solid creative potential, although I think it could be more clever.
But I think in a foldable phone those features could really come to the fore. Having more screen real estate means you have more ability to circle around to search based on what you want and more room to dedicate to editing with Generative Edit. I also think features like AI-powered note taking and summary generation can be better leveraged on a phone where split-screen operation is more viable than on standard phones.
Generative AI may have won over certain people (looking at you 'tech experts'), but I haven't been entirely convinced by the technology, which seems to be a source of potential counterfeiting. However, I am slowly realizing its ability to help people do things smartly. And I think its potential combination with a powerful, sleek, and lightweight new Galaxy Z Fold could further open my jaded eyes to a positive AI future.
