Samsung seems to be focusing on foldables in 2026 – here are 3 possible reasons why
Bend, don’t break
· TechRadarFeatures By Jamie Richards published 17 December 2025
(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future) Jump To:
Share Share by:
Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google
Samsung has had a pretty big year when it comes to smartphones. The Korean tech giant continues to dominate the Android market in Western countries by releasing new phones for every kind of buyer, from the budget A series all the way up to the super-premium Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Indeed, Samsung’s 2025 slab phone releases were consistently very good – the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus both earned four stars in our reviews, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra netted an extra half-star for its supremely powerful hardware.
But to be honest, it felt like a less meaningful year overall for Samsung’s mainline handsets. Beyond some design tweaks and a more powerful chipset, there wasn’t too much new to talk about compared to the Galaxy S24 series before it – even the state-of-the-art Galaxy S25 Edge fell out of the headlines pretty quickly in the shadow of the slimmer, more stylish iPhone Air.
Indeed, when I think of Samsung in 2025, none of the above phones spring to mind – instead, I think of the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
Samsung went full pelt with its folding phones in 2025. Taking cues from various forward-thinking Chinese phone makers, it bumped the Galaxy Z Fold 7 up from a 7.6-inch to an 8-inch folding display, gave it a more usable 21:9 cover screen, increased the main camera sensor to 200MP, and shaved more than a millimetre off the phone’s unfolded thickness.
The ever–popular Z Flip lineup got some love too, with not one but two new models – the flagship Galaxy Z Flip 7, with a new edge-to-edge cover display, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE, the first FE-labelled Samsung foldable and therefore the first dedicated to achieving a lower price point. Samsung foldables tend to see pretty substantial upgrades year on year, but this generation leapt ahead like none other before it.
And this momentum is set to continue with the upcoming US release of the Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold, the first of the “multi-fold” devices Samsung teased all the way back at the start of 2025. I’ve been following the Galaxy Z Trifold closely for the last few weeks, and it seems like it could be a real revolution for mobile productivity, entertainment, and design.
Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox
Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors