Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Special Edition Launches With Several Design Tweaks

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition has finally broken cover with the Korean electronics company revealing that it's the thinnest and lightest Z Fold ever at 10.6 millimeters and 236 grams, respectively. It will also come with a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera versus a 50MP unit on the standard Fold 6. For now, the phone is only sold in South Korea and China for the USD equivalent of $2,020. Yikes!

As we reported last week, Samsung indeed has a new addition to its current generation of Z Fold 6 phones, but instead drops the "6" to be called the Z Fold Special Edition (SE). It's Samsung's foldable smartphone tour de force to take on the likes of the Honor Magic V3 and the upcoming OnePlus Open 2. Honestly, it's about time the Korean giant re-joins the fight since it's recent models have been considered by many as staid and boring.

Thankfully, the Z Fold SE brings numerous changes to make the wait (and price of entry) worthwhile. In terms of thickness (or thinness, depending on who you ask), the SE measures 4.9mm when opened and 10.6mm when closed. Sure, that's a bit behind the Magic V3 (4.4mm opened, 9.2mm closed), but it's a move in the right direction considering how the Fold 6 is a massive 12.2 mm thick. 

At 7.99-inches, the 2184x1968 120Hz QXGA+ inner display is the largest on a Samsung foldable. Viewability under bright lighting and/or direct sunlight will be aided by 2,600 nits of peak brightness. The outer display seems more pedestrian with a 6.5-inch 2520x1080 (FHD+) panel and no mention of max nits or refresh rate.

In the imaging department, the SE's wide-angle sensor has been bumped to 200MP, which should boost photo and video quality plus give Samsung some much-need bragging rights. 

The same Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in the Fold 6 will power the SE, supported by 16GB of RAM. The thinner profile brings a lighter build (3g less than the Fold 6), but unfortunately that means the SE will not have S-Pen support and that its battery size trails behind the competition at 4,272mAh.

Samsung says that the phone will be available starting October 25 in South Korea (China could be next). Pricing is roughly $2,020, which puts the SE around $400 more than the top-spec'd 16GB/512GB Fold 6.