If you are going to spend a lot of money on R&D, you are going to want a return on that investment. So it would not be surprising if Samsung is reportedly exploring the possibility of another foldable smartphone alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip 5G.

The rumor comes from a tweet by YouTuber Fold Universe, who claims that the new device, dubbed the Galaxy Z Fold S, will be modeled after Microsoft's soon-to-be-announced Surface Duo, rather than Samsung's existing foldable He states that it will be. In other words, it is a tablet that can be closed with a 360-degree hinge.

The major difference, according to the source of this rumor, is that Samsung's alternative will have a single flexible OLED screen, rather than the two panels used in Microsoft's device.

Apparently, the leak source is less than impressed. Fold Universe tweeted, "I don't see any good use cases other than tent mode like the Surface Duo, but it's not that intriguing." Maybe they do it just to show what they can do." [The main appeal of the Galaxy Z Fold S would be the thinness of the design. The device will probably not have an external display, which would allow Samsung to make a sleeker, pocket-friendly device. For example, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is 0.66" thick when closed, while the Surface Duo is only 0.38".

Furthermore, the Galaxy Z Fold S is likely to feature much better specs than the $1,400 Duo. Samsung's foldable is powered by last year's Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip, not this year's Snapdragon 865; the Galaxy Z Fold S is rumored to use the same 5nm manufacturing process as the iPhone 12's A14 Bionic, Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 875 chip, which is rumored to use the same 5nm manufacturing process as the iPhone 12's A14 Bionic.

According to the leaker, the device will appear in 2021, and whether that will happen remains to be seen, but it is far from guaranteed. First, this leaker is relatively new and has no long track record to collate. That does not necessarily mean it is fictional, but it does mean that it is difficult to take at face value.

Samsung's foldable device may be expensive, but the company's insistence on top-notch internal construction to justify the price means that a sleeker, more powerful alternative to the Surface Duo could be on the horizon next year.