Galaxy Z Fold 3 to get smaller Cover Screen, Z Flip 2 get a bigger one

If you think Samsung already went all out on foldable phones this year, 2021 might change your mind. At least based on a recent report, Samsung plans on launching no less than three foldable phones for the first time (two variants of the Galaxy Z Flip don't count separately). It isn't all good news, however, as it seems that Samsung has decided to take a step back and reduce the size of the Galaxy Z Fold 3's external screen, probably to offset the costs of its main feature.

The first Galaxy Fold had a 4.6-inch second screen that was functional but inconvenient to use. Samsung corrected that this year with the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and its large 6.2-inch edge-to-edge Infinity-O Cover Display. According to South Korean industry news site The Elec, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 will go even smaller with a 4-inch external screen which sounds downright disappointing.

Some might forgive Samsung that if the Galaxy Z Fold 3 does arrive with S Pen support. This, according to the report, will be possible by increasing the thickness of the 7-inch screen's Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) to 60 or even 100 micrometers compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 2's 30 micrometers. This would make it possible for the surface to withstand the tip of a stylus but at the expense of some flexibility.

In contrast, the Galaxy Z Flip 2 will reportedly have a larger cover display measuring 3 inches up from the current 1.1 inches. How Samsung will pull that off is still unknown but recent patents already hinted at different possibilities.

Contrary to another recent leak, the site claims that Samsung's affordable foldable phone will be the Galaxy Z Fold Lite, featuring a 7-inch main screen and a 4-inch Cover Display. This will reportedly be the first to debut next year, sometime around the first quarter. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 2 will launch in the third quarter of 2021, just like their predecessors this year.