Why Samsung Gave Its Next Folding Phone a New Shape
Why Samsung Gave Its Next Folding Phone a New Shape
三星为何为其下一代折叠屏手机赋予新形态
Think “folding phone,” and Samsung probably comes to mind. The company has led the charge in the category since it debuted the first Galaxy Fold in 2019. It has refined the hardware of its Fold and Flip devices ever since, making them thinner, lighter, and stronger. 提到“折叠屏手机”，人们首先想到的往往是三星。自2019年推出首款Galaxy Fold以来，三星一直引领着该品类的发展。此后，三星不断优化Fold和Flip系列的硬件，使其变得更薄、更轻、更坚固。
So what’s next? A new shape, apparently. On Wednesday, at its second Galaxy Unpacked event of the year, Samsung revealed a brand-new design for the Galaxy Fold8—a passport-shaped, book-like fold—which sits between the now-rebranded Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and the compact Galaxy Z Flip8. 那么接下来是什么？显然是一种全新的形态。周三，在今年第二次Galaxy Unpacked发布会上，三星展示了Galaxy Fold8的全新设计——一种护照大小、书本式折叠的机型，其定位介于现已更名的Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra和紧凑型Galaxy Z Flip8之间。
Drew Blackard, Samsung’s senior vice president of Mobile Product Management, says it’s all about expanding the portfolio. The larger, heavier, big-screen Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra caters to productivity-oriented folks, the Flip8 satisfies anyone prioritizing portability, while the new Fold8 is all around consuming content. 三星移动产品管理高级副总裁Drew Blackard表示，这一切都是为了丰富产品组合。更大、更重、屏幕更宽广的Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra迎合了注重生产力的用户，Flip8满足了追求便携性的用户，而全新的Fold8则专注于内容消费。
“One of the things we’re seeing, in the past few years is an explosive growth in mobile video watching,” Blackard tells WIRED. “Consumers watch 80 percent of their video on mobile devices now, not in front of a TV screen or tablet. The actual shape of the content has changed—you’ve gone from landscape view format for things like Netflix to vertical orientation for a lot of social media.” “过去几年，我们观察到移动视频观看量呈爆炸式增长，”Blackard告诉《连线》杂志。“消费者现在80%的视频是在移动设备上观看的，而不是在电视或平板电脑前。内容的实际形态已经发生了变化——从Netflix等平台的横屏格式，转变为社交媒体上主流的竖屏格式。”
The new Fold8 has a 10:16 aspect ratio for the front cover screen, and when opened, reveals a 4:3 inner display, both of which play well with all kinds of videos, whether that’s clips on YouTube or Instagram Reels. Also, the unfolded 7.6-inch inner screen is ideal for reading websites or ebooks when the phone is held in vertical orientation. That makes it more familiar and comfortable for consuming content, which is the lion’s share of what people use smartphones for these days, than the taller, narrower Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra. 新款Fold8的外屏采用了10:16的纵横比，展开后则呈现出一块4:3的内屏，两者都能很好地适配各种视频，无论是YouTube短片还是Instagram Reels。此外，展开后的7.6英寸内屏非常适合在竖屏握持时阅读网页或电子书。相比更高、更窄的Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra，这种形态在内容消费（目前人们使用智能手机的主要用途）方面显得更加亲切和舒适。
It looks a lot like what Apple’s first folding device is rumored to look like, with a wider screen that’s much shorter than the traditional booklike fold we’ve come to know. It resembles the original Google Pixel Fold or even the poorly received Microsoft Surface Duo. 它看起来很像传闻中苹果首款折叠屏设备的样子，屏幕更宽，且比我们熟悉的传统书本式折叠机型要短得多。它与初代Google Pixel Fold甚至口碑不佳的Microsoft Surface Duo有几分相似。
Blackard says that when its seventh-generation folding phones came out in 2025, the company thought it had reached an inflection point of a mainstream design—the phone was light enough and the hardware slim enough with few spec trade-offs when compared with candybar smartphones. Last year’s Galaxy Z Fold7, for example, shipped with the same 200-megapixel camera as the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra. Blackard says he believes this hardware parity will only usher in a diversity of folding phone designs that meet “consumers’ different needs.” Blackard表示，当2025年第七代折叠屏手机问世时，公司认为它已经达到了主流设计的拐点——手机足够轻，硬件足够薄，与直板智能手机相比，规格上的妥协极少。例如，去年的Galaxy Z Fold7搭载了与旗舰机Galaxy S25 Ultra相同的2亿像素摄像头。Blackard认为，这种硬件上的对等将带来更多样化的折叠屏设计，以满足“消费者不同的需求”。
The time for experimenting with new shapes is ripe. Earlier this year, Samsung released the Galaxy Z TriFold—an even bigger folding phone that expanded to tablet size, with an eye-watering price. The company has since stopped selling it, with Blackard saying it was always supposed to be a limited-run product; Samsung did roughly four drops in the US, and with each one, the $2,899 TriFold sold out in minutes. 尝试新形态的时机已经成熟。今年早些时候，三星发布了Galaxy Z TriFold——一款展开后可达平板电脑大小、价格令人咋舌的超大折叠屏手机。目前该公司已停止销售，Blackard称其本就是限量产品；三星在美国进行了大约四轮发售，每一轮售价2899美元的TriFold都在几分钟内售罄。
Now there’s the new shape, at a still-expensive but more palatable $1,900. Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for data and analytics at IDC, says whether it’s reacting to Apple’s upcoming iPhone or just expanding the portfolio, the Fold8 is a good move for Samsung. 现在有了这种新形态，价格虽然依然昂贵，但1900美元的定价更容易让人接受。IDC数据与分析副总裁Francisco Jeronimo表示，无论是为了应对苹果即将推出的iPhone，还是仅仅为了丰富产品组合，Fold8对三星来说都是明智之举。
“When Apple launches the device, and it becomes popular, then they can also offer the same kind of format to their customers,” Jeronimo says. “They have nothing to lose in launching a new format because it’s just another offering. If someone says, ‘I don’t like the book style,’ then they have the passport style. We will probably see more form factors and devices coming next year.” “当苹果推出设备并大受欢迎时，三星也可以向客户提供同样的格式，”Jeronimo说。“推出新格式对他们来说没有任何损失，因为它只是多了一种选择。如果有人说‘我不喜欢书本式’，那么他们还有护照式可选。明年我们可能会看到更多形态和设备出现。”
A part of what might also help to make these devices more mainstream is the much talked about crease. Folding phones have an unavoidable crease in the middle where the hinge sits, and many have voiced their disdain for it. Now, thanks to a new titanium display layer that Samsung calls Flex Titanium in the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra, the crease isn’t as noticeable and feels “flatter” than the more obvious ridge in previous models. Apple has reportedly expended significant effort in trying to eliminate the crease. The lesser the crease, perhaps the more appealing the phone. 有助于让这些设备更为主流的因素之一，是备受争议的折痕问题。折叠屏手机在铰链处不可避免地会有折痕，许多用户对此表示不满。现在，得益于三星在Fold8和Fold8 Ultra中采用的名为“Flex Titanium”的新型钛金属显示层，折痕不再那么明显，触感也比以往机型中明显的凸起更“平坦”。据报道，苹果在消除折痕方面投入了巨大努力。折痕越少，手机或许就越具吸引力。
Samsung says this titanium plate and the titanium-alloy film also help improve durability. And overall, the phone is easier to open and close, though the Fold8 isn’t designed to sit half-open. Blackard expects most users will stick with the cover screen or inner display, and that “Flex Mode” behavior—with the screen open at a 90-degree angle—is something folks using the Fold8 Ultra or Flip8 are more likely to demonstrate. 三星表示，这种钛金属板和钛合金薄膜也有助于提高耐用性。总体而言，手机开合更顺畅，尽管Fold8的设计初衷并非为了半开使用。Blackard预计大多数用户会习惯使用外屏或内屏，而那种将屏幕打开至90度角的“Flex模式”，更可能是Fold8 Ultra或Flip8用户会去尝试的操作。
Crucially, Samsung also claims the Fold8 is the lightest booklike folding phone on the market, weighing in at a mere 201 grams (32 grams less than the iPhone 17 Pro Max). Weight plays a big role in adoption, as many early folding phones were bulky, heavy, and cumbersome to use. Slimming them down and reducing weight makes them significantly more usable, and the value of having much more screen real estate is easy to appreciate. 至关重要的是，三星还声称Fold8是目前市场上最轻的书本式折叠屏手机，重量仅为201克（比iPhone 17 Pro Max轻32克）。重量在用户接受度方面起着重要作用，因为许多早期的折叠屏手机体积庞大、沉重且使用不便。减轻重量和缩小体积使其更具实用性，而拥有更大屏幕空间的价值也显而易见。
Blackard isn’t worried about Apple’s foray into its territory. He says more competition brings visibility to the category—people may know what a folding phone is today, but many haven’t seen or actually used one. Blackard并不担心苹果进入这一领域。他表示，更多的竞争会提高该品类的知名度——人们今天可能知道什么是折叠屏手机，但许多人还没有见过或真正使用过。
“The more there is out there, the more people will be familiar with the form factor,” he says. “When it comes to their decision, we can rely on the fact that this is our eighth generation. Obviously, first generations tend to go through hiccups.” He also points out that Samsung has a portfolio of devices for consumers to choose from rather than just one. “市面上的产品越多，人们对这种形态就越熟悉，”他说。“当他们做出购买决定时，我们可以依靠我们已经是第八代产品这一事实。显然，第一代产品往往会经历一些波折。”他还指出，三星拥有丰富的产品组合供消费者选择，而不仅仅只有一款。