We were expecting Samsung to launch a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 on August 10, but while both of these phones are still expected, it looks like they might land with slightly unexpected names.
According to the lessor Snoopy Tech (opens in a new tab), Samsung is taking tentative steps to remove the letter Z from their names – on their retail boxes, they might just be called “Galaxy Fold 4” and “Galaxy Flip 4” instead. The company’s future foldable phones apparently won’t include Z in the name either.
This is supposedly because the letter Z started to be used by the Russian military and can be seen as a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Samsung Electronics is trying to get rid of the letter “Z” in its foldable phone series. From Flip/Fold 4, the letter will no longer be printed on the boxes. This is because the Russian army uses the letter.August 2, 2022
Although it is only a rumor for now, it is very credible, especially since Samsung has already removed the Z from the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 brand in some Baltic countries.
We’d still take that with a pinch of salt for now, but we’ll find out one way or another very soon, as Samsung is having a big launch on August 10th where we expect to see both of these phones, as well than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
Analysis: a good move, even without the Russia factor
Samsung’s current foldable phone naming convention makes sense. You instantly know that anything with a Z in the name is a foldable, which could be all the more useful if Samsung expands beyond its current two foldable ranges.
Plus, most other Samsung phones also contain a letter in their name – there’s an S for mainstream flagships and an A for more affordable phones, for example.
But on the other hand, there are exceptions to this. The now-defunct Galaxy Note line didn’t have a letter for example, and there was no sense it needed one, because it was a note that told you what you needed to know.
Likewise, knowing that a phone is a Flip or a Fold tells you a lot, so the Z is superfluous, and makes the name longer than necessary. Even having Galaxy in the name is a bit pointless, but we can’t see the best Samsung phones dropping that anytime soon.