On the eve of Apple's highly anticipated folding iPhone, Samsung isn't feeling threatened. Instead, the folding smartphone pioneer says the competition is “absolutely welcome.”
\n\nThat's according to Hee-Cheul Moon, head of Samsung's Advanced Mechanical R&D Group, who sat with WIRED on a virtual Zoom call with Seungki Choi, head of Samsung's Smartphone R&D Group. Before the talk veered toward Apple, the pair spoke about how the company managed to shave 75 grams off the weight of its latest Galaxy Z Fold8 in the 7 years since it debuted the original.
\n\nWeight is integral to a folding phone's success. If the device is too chunky and heavy, you're less likely to want to use it. Over the past two years, folding devices from Honor, Google, and Samsung have rapidly gotten lighter, which each iteration featuring thinner designs. It may be why Samsung saw preorders for its latest folding handsets increase 30 percent globally versus last year's models, with the Fold8—the device with a new smaller shape that’s easier to hold—accounting for nearly half.
\n\n“Seeing these other brands entering the market, we feel very proud of ourselves that the value that we pioneered with this new category of foldables is being acknowledged…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/