Although Samsung just released the Galaxy Z Fold 4/Galaxy Z Flip 4, its limelight was quickly robbed by its competitors. In addition to delaying the Moto Razr (2022), which is the latter, Xiaomi has also come up with the Mix Fold 2, which is the former. But even though Huawei, OPPO and other brands have adopted the waterdrop hinge to make folded devices thinner and lighter, Samsung has snubbed the design for a simple but important reason.
The importance of the hinge is not only reflected in how to magically store the device, but also determines the folding method of the flexible screen, the control of curvature and tension, and the durability and reliability of the device. So far, Samsung has been following a more traditional hinge solution. Although doing so will leave a visible gap (in order to keep the flex panel curvature to a minimum).
On the other hand, doing so will affect the screen’s creases — a solution that also doesn’t help prolong the life of a fragile screen in the long run. In contrast, the hinge solutions of Xiaomi, Huawei, and OPPO can allow the central area of the screen to sink into the interior of the fuselage and form a water drop when folded. While consumers rave about the mechanism, Samsung clearly doesn’t think it’s worth the cost in terms of overall reliability.
In order to allow the screen to fold flat while making the creaseless obvious, competitors have opted for drop hinges. Taking the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 as an example, this solution is also believed to make the device thinner. However, as a heavyweight player in the display field, Samsung has unexpectedly not followed the trend.
DSCC analyst Ross Young revealed that the company did consider a similar drop hinge design during the development stage. However, the company found that doing so would make the Galaxy Z foldable smartphone give up its precious IPX8 rating – only simple ‘life waterproofing’.
In March of this year, ETNews first reported on this rumor. All that said, Samsung may have made what it thinks is the right tradeoff — at least for now. Finally, we still hope that Samsung can bring more surprises with each iteration, and continuously improve the crease and hinge durability of flexible screens, so as to bring more perfect solutions to consumers.