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Samsung's 'Wide' Galaxy Z Fold might include a clever way to save your screen from damage
- Samsung is working on a new “Foreign Material Detection” feature for its foldables.
- This feature will alert users via a notification if debris or foreign substances are preventing the device from folding completely.
- This feature was spotted in leaked One UI 9 builds, which also include new graphics for the three 2026 foldables: Fold 8, Flip 8, and Fold Wide.
When it rains, it pours, and this month has been particularly wild for Samsung. Not only did a YouTuber manage to buy the Galaxy S26 Ultra days before its official announcement, but we also revealed the world’s first look at Samsung’s ‘Wide’ Galaxy Z Fold. If you’re yearning for more information on Samsung’s upcoming flagships, we’ve now spotted a new Foreign Material Detection feature, along with new graphics for all upcoming foldables, including the Galaxy Z Fold Wide.
Within leaked One UI 9 builds, we’ve spotted a new upcoming feature called “Foreign Material Detection,” intended for foldables. It will alert users when their foldable is not fully folded due to foreign materials.
<string name="foreign_material_detection_title">Phone not fully folded</string>
<string name="foreign_material_detection_body">Your phone didn't fold completely. Open your phone again, and check if there is any foreign substances on the screen to avoid screen damage. If you don't need this detection alert, you can turn it off in the Settings.</string>As you can see in the strings, this feature is intended to help prevent screen damage by prompting the user to check for any foreign substances that may be preventing the foldable from fully folding shut. Users will be able to turn off the detection alert if they don’t need it, which is a good option for power users.
Samsung also added three images related to the feature, and the title of each image mentions the codenames of its upcoming foldables:
While this isn’t the first look at the Wide Fold, and the Fold 8 and Flip 8 renders don’t carry any surprises, the presence of the three together gives us a great look at Samsung’s upcoming foldable lineup in 2026. Importantly, the aspect ratio difference between the Fold 8 and the Wide Fold is evident here, with the Wide Fold taking on a more passport-like appearance.
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Eagle-eyed readers would notice that all the phones pictured here have softer corners than their predecessors or previously leaked animations. It remains to be seen whether this is just a graphical mismatch/oversight or whether the upcoming foldables will indeed have softer corners (which, in turn, would make them easier to hold). This is likely just an oversight on the graphic, and the previously leaked animations for the Wide Fold are likely better representative of the foldable at this stage of development.
Further, it’s not clear whether Foreign Material Detection will be made available to older Samsung foldables as well. Since the leaked One UI 9 build is quite early in its development cycle, it could go either way.
Nothing is final until it is officially announced. We’ll have to wait a few months for the foldables to be announced, so stay tuned.
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