US-China trade war could make the Galaxy Z Fold8 thicker, feel less premium

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 is one of the thinnest and lightest foldable available on the market and the company was able to pull this off by using different materials. One of the materials that not only made the phone slimmer and lighter, but also feel more premium at the same time, is titanium. If the latest report is accurate, Samsung may backtrack and not use titanium for the Galaxy Z Fold8.

The latest report from The Elec (machine translated to English) states that due to the ongoing US-China trade war, there could be some material changes for the next book-style foldable from Samsung. The company used titanium for the backplate on the Galaxy Z Fold7 to make the phone as thin as it is, but sourcing titanium may become more difficult. This could result in the company going back to its carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) backplates, which may be thicker and heavier.

According to the report, China is a major player when it comes to sourcing titanium and the ongoing trade war could result in higher costs for the material, raising questions about its viability for the Galaxy Z Fold8. The company is very familiar with CFRP as it has been used since the Galaxy Z Fold3, up till the Galaxy Z Fold6 (buy renewed on Amazon).

Another compromise that Samsung made with the Galaxy Z Fold FE and the Galaxy Z Fold7 is the lack of S Pen support. To cut down on thickness, the company removed the digitizer layer that would have otherwise enabled using the S Pen. The company is said to be working on a slimmer digitizer which could mean that S Pen support is returning with the Galaxy Z Fold8, even though it is expected to come with a relatively thicker CFRP backplate. A recent leak suggested that Samsung is also working on a crease-free display for the Galaxy Z Fold8, so that will definitely be an upgrade over the current generation.

It could even be that Samsung finds a way to further slim down the CFRP backplate to bring it closer to a titanium backplate dimension. However, this could also mean that the next Samsung foldable will not feel as premium as the Galaxy Z Fold7.