Is Samsung overselling the Galaxy Z Flip 7 at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The 2026 Winter Olympics are about to begin. As an official Olympic Games partner, Samsung has been heavily promoting the event and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 over the past couple of weeks. What I find odd is that foldable phones and freezing temperatures have never really gone well together.

I’ve been occasionally watching the sports channel on my Samsung TV in anticipation of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, and I’ll admit I’ve seen Samsung’s “Open Always Wins” ad more times than I can count.

I have nothing against the ad itself. But as a Samsung fan who’s familiar with foldable technology, I can’t help but wonder if the company is overselling the Flip 7.

Every single time Samsung shows the Flip 7 on the ski slopes, I find myself wondering how many people watching that same ad know just how bad sub-zero temperatures can be for foldable displays.

As a rule of thumb, Samsung says the ideal operating temperature window for any phone (and its battery) is between 0 and 35 degrees Celsius.

Foldable phones, however, pose even bigger problems. Their flexible displays become more rigid in sub-zero temperatures, which can lead to reduced longevity and, in some cases, permanent damage.

Older foldable Galaxy phones could fail quite dramatically in cold weather. We saw just how bad things could get back in 2021, when Galaxy foldable users in Korea reported display failures after using their phones in Seoul’s freezing -18 degree temperatures.

Thankfully, newer foldable phones handle the cold much better. Even so, despite these durability improvements, it’s still true that unfolding the Galaxy Z Flip 7 — the very phone Samsung is promoting at the 2026 Winter Olympics — in cold weather can hurt its long-term durability.

As a point of reference, Samsung rates the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s display for up to 500,000 folds at optimal temperatures. At -20 degrees Celsius, however, that rating drops to around 60,000 folds. The Fold 7 and Flip 7 share the same foldable display tech.

60,000 folds in -20 degrees weather is still impressive, especially when you consider how poorly the first Galaxy Fold handled the cold. And maybe Samsung is confident that its newest Flip 7 can easily survive the winter conditions in Northern Italy, which would explain the boldness of the ad campaign.

Still, if I were to buy a Galaxy Z Flip 7 and take it to the 2026 Winter Olympics, I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’d probably limit how often I fold and unfold it when using the phone outdoors. Thankfully, the Flip 7 has a pretty generous 4.1-inch cover screen driven by clever AI.

As for Samsung’s advertising strategy, I’m left unsure whether the company is simply very confident in its latest foldable display technology, or if it decided that promoting the Galaxy Z Flip 7 in the cold at the 2026 Winter Olympics is a risk worth taking.