Samsung may have already decided on no fewer than three foldable smartphone models it's going to release in the near future. The alleged trio consists of the Galaxy Z Fold Lite, Galaxy Z Fold S, and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. That's according to a newly surfaced insider claim that's pretty light on the details and should be taken with some reservations, though its source was one of the earliest to report on the existence of the original Galaxy Fold 5G last year.
The Galaxy Z Fold Lite will supposedly leverage a type of plastics called colorless polyimide (CPI), as opposed to the Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) of the Galaxy Z Fold 3. The latter, however, may offer S Pen support, meaning it would feature a digitizer beneath its foldable display. Digitizers themselves are relatively bendable already, but implementing one into a foldable flagship would likely result in one of the most expensive smartphones Samsung ever put out.
Finally, the Galaxy Z Fold S will supposedly be able to fold both in and out, as per the same source.
How many foldables in a year is too many?
For what it's worth, the Galaxy Z Fold Lite was already rumored for some time now, with previous reports indicating Samsung is targeting a 2021 release at a sub-$1,000 price point. And a return to CPI film may just about be the only way to deliver such an affordable foldable smartphone in that time frame. As a reminder, the 2019 Galaxy Fold leveraged CPI to achieve its foldable form factor, but the subsequent Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold 2 both turned to UTG.
If nothing else, all three monikers seem to be in line with the laughable naming strategy Samsung's been pursuing in the foldable segment as of recently.
