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Samsung’s latest foldable Android launches later this month, but there’s a catch

Samsung's slimmed-down Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition foldable edges closer to an official announcement, but we might miss out in the US.

Custom image for Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition news with the Z Fold 6 on the left of the screen and Android icon on the right

Plenty of rumors and speculation surrounding Samsung’s upcoming Z Fold 6 variant have circulated online since the foldable flagship arrived earlier this year. We’ve seen it referred to as the Z Fold 6 Slim or the Z Fold 6 Ultra, but following the latest leak, it’s looking like the most likely name is the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition.

The latest leak comes after Korean retailer T-Store posted pre-order dates for the upcoming handset (via @negativeonehero on X). The phone is now all but confirmed for an October launch, with the translated text reading “pre-order period until October 24, delivery period from October 25.” This follows just over a month after the release of the Honor Magic V3, one of the best foldable phones on the market, plus the new TECNO PHANTOM V Fold2. So, how is Samsung planning on making the Z Fold Special Edition stand out in the face of growing competition?

For a start, it’ll have the largest display of any Samsung foldable, with a 6.5-inch cover display and a spacious 8-inch foldable panel on the inside. This means it’ll match the scale of the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, which is currently one of the largest foldables around. It’ll also be Samsung’s slimmest foldable to date, measuring 10.6 mm thick when folded and 4.9 mm thick unfolded. That’s still not as slimline as the new Honor Magic V3, but it’s not far off.

Other rumors suggest this new model could inherit the 200MP main snapper of the S24 Ultra, though we’ve not seen enough sources to corroborate that. Whatever the case, we don’t have long to wait for the full specs sheet now. The T-Store listing says pre-orders open on October 18. Presumably, that’s when Samsung will make its official announcement, though we’re not expecting the sort of launch fanfare we saw with the reveal of the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 in the summer.

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Unfortunately, there is some disappointing news for fans of the best Samsung phones in the US and Europe. The leak seemingly indicates this launch is limited to South Korea and China, at least initially. Of course, we’ll keep checking the official Samsung social media channels for English-speaking regions, but we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath.