5 things Samsung needs to do with its folding phones in 2025

2024 was a challenging year for Samsung as its smartphone lineup has fallen stale just as it faces more competition in every smartphone segment than ever before. The Google Pixel 8a and OnePlus 12R challenge the Galaxy A, while the Galaxy S24 series faces challenges in every key market.

Then there’s the foldable lineup, and it’s where Samsung has improvements to make. The company made foldable phones mainstream, but while it drove much of the initial innovation, the competition has begun to surpass it. The OnePlus Open proved that there was an alternative to Samsung’s prowess in multitasking, and the Galaxy Z Fold 6 did little to dispel that notion last year. At the same time, Google made a much better foldable with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold; Honor proved that you can have a slim foldable with a big battery, and Motorola proved that it can outdo Samsung on the flip front.

How does Samsung bounce back? Here are five things the company can do to improve its folding phone lineup in 2025.

Change the form factor of the Fold

The first Galaxy Fold kicked off an experiment: do customers want a taller and narrower folding phone or one more akin to a passport size and form factor? The answer is much closer to the latter, and six generations in, it’s safe to say that Samsung needs to change the form factor of the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Each successive generation of the Fold brings us a thinner and lighter device, but the overall form factor hasn’t changed. The key thing that makes the OnePlus Open, Honor Magic V3, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold better is that the front screen is more akin to the size of a regular smartphone. Meanwhile, the front screen on the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is more akin to Sony smartphones, which have used a taller form factor for years.

I have every Galaxy Fold, and the front screen experience has significantly improved, but after using the competition, it’s much harder to transition back to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. I hope that Samsung finally moves on instead of going even taller and wider like the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition.

Thinner, lighter, and curvier

The Special Edition foldable released in 2024 does usher in a lighter and thinner era for Samsung. It’s 1.5mm thinner than the regular Galaxy Z Fold 6 and weighs 3 grams less, and while this is a welcome improvement, the competition still beats it.

That said, the improvements in the Z Fold Special Edition are considerable. At 4.9mm thin when unfolded, it’s 0.2mm thinner than the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It’s still 0.5mm thicker than the Honor Magic V3 but on par with the rest of the competition.

As part of changing the form factor, I hope that Samsung integrates subtle curves and rounded edges into the overall design. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is extremely boxy — a design that isn’t necessarily a negative — but the three key competitors feel far nicer in the hand. As we move into rollable and tri-folding phones, there’s never been a better time to also focus on the in-hand experience.

Improve the cameras

Consider this: the Galaxy S24 Ultra has an outstanding camera with excellent zoom, but the Galaxy Z Fold 6 features the same camera as the more affordable Galaxy S24. This is more indicative of the industry as a whole, but the Honor Magic V3 proved it’s possible to have three very capable cameras.

Samsung hasn’t changed the cameras on the Galaxy Z Fold lineup since the Galaxy Z Fold 4. While there are improvements through subtle sensor changes or algorithms provided by the Snapdragon chipset, it’s fundamentally the same camera stack.

This is how Samsung’s camera stack compares to the key competition:

My frustrations with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 often come down to the cameras, and while they’re perfectly fine, I think they should be much better. Samsung needs to deliver more on the camera front, especially as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold features similar camera hardware but outperforms the Galaxy Z Fold 6. It’s been three years of the same camera stack, so it’s time for Samsung to make a big improvement in 2025.

Supercharge the battery and charging

Of course, I’m hoping Samsung fixes everything, which includes its approach to battery and charging. Since a fairly substantial setback with batteries on the Galaxy Note, the company has been risk-averse when it comes to pushing power into its smartphones.

Here’s how the Galaxy Z Fold 6 compares to the main competition in the U.S. and other key markets:

Then we look further afield and see how it compares to devices that have much more limited availability:

The only phone that Samsung matches is the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, although I hope that Google will improve that in 2025, too. Outside the U.S., Samsung faces vast competition and has the smallest battery and slowest charging.

Crucially, the value proposition has changed, especially considering the Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 has a bigger battery and charges faster despite being almost half the price. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is still compelling, but with each competitor, it becomes harder to recommend.

In case you were wondering, it’s not just the Galaxy Z Fold 6 but the entire Galaxy lineup, including the Galaxy Z Flip 6. Here’s how Samsung’s flip-foldable compares.

The table above reveals a couple of interesting points. First, there are more flip phones without wireless charging than with, but the two available in the U.S. — the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Motorola Razr Plus 2024 — both support 15W wireless charging. Both feature the same battery capacity, but the Motorola Razr Plus wired charges much faster. It’s a key part of the overall experience, and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is considerably slower.

Outside the U.S., both phones are dwarfed by the best from Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor, and Tecno. None of these phones support wireless charging, but Xiaomi, Honor, and Tecno all charge considerably faster than Samsung. Ultimately, it isn’t just about the speed; Samsung needs to improve the delta between it and the competition.

Unpack our tri-folding and rollable futures

For many years, the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip have offered compelling experiences, and while they continue to do so, they no longer provide the only experience you should buy. The competition is fierce in foldables as we know them now, so while Samsung needs to improve its current lineup, it also needs to focus on the next generation of folding phones.

I’ve seen concept phones with a tri-folding screen from many companies, including Samsung itself, and Huawei has already launched the first commercial tri-fold smartphone. Companies like Tecno are working to bring rolling devices to the market, while we’ve also seen Lenovo and Motorola, respectively, show off concept laptops and phones with rollable displays. Samsung is likely working on its answer to expanding displays, but will it finally unveil these this year?

Regardless, the Galaxy Z range still offers a great overall experience, and the S Pen is unmatched, but there’s a lot of competition — and it’s only getting tougher. Samsung needs to unpack the secret to innovation in its foldables again and quickly. It’s already doing it on the software front with an excellent overhaul to its software in One UI 7; now, the hardware needs to follow.