Why Samsung no longer wants “Z” on its folding smartphones

Samsung uses letters of the alphabet to distinguish its different product lines. For example, the Galaxy S are the flagships of the Korean giant, like the Galaxy S22 or the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Mid-range devices are Galaxy A, like Galaxy A33 or Galaxy A53 . There are also the Galaxy M, for the mid-range segment (usually with large batteries).

And Samsung’s folding smartphones are Galaxy Z, like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Galaxy Z Flip 3. But obviously, the use of the letter “Z” on the brands of its folding smartphones has become embarrassing for Samsung.

No more Z on Samsung’s folding smartphone brands: the Korean giant hasn’t explained itself yet

Indeed, as reported by the Android Police site, in some European countries, the Korean giant has decided to withdraw this letter. Thus, on its sites, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 becomes the Galaxy Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 becomes the Galaxy Flip 3. This rebranding would be very important for Samsung, which even decided to print the new marks without the Z on the boxes.

This change is for example applied on the Estonian site of Samsung, as well as in Latvia. On the other hand, in France, the name of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 have not yet changed. Similarly, no change on the American sites of the Korean giant.

The company has yet to make a statement on the matter. But even without official explanations, we can be sure that this change, which Samsung has made in countries geographically close to Russia, is linked to the war in Ukraine.

Indeed, if you follow international news, you probably already know that the letter Z was painted on vehicles used by the Russian army. And it has also become a sign of support for the invasion of Ukraine.

At the beginning of March, for example, a Russian athlete caused a lot of ink to flow because he wore this letter on his chest during the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup.

“Russian Ivan Kuliak wore the letter Z on his chest during the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha. The Z is said to be a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Kuliak won bronze on parallel bars. Ukrainian Kovtun Illia won gold.)”had explained the journalist Rick Westhead on Twitter.

As mentioned above, the changes made by Samsung to no longer include the letter Z on its brands still only apply to a few countries. But it would not be surprising if in the long term, the manufacturer decides to extend this measure to all countries, especially if the war gets bogged down.

Moreover, since Samsung has yet to release its new folding smartphones for 2022, it has the option of not including the letter Z on the brands of these devices from the presentation.

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