Samsung Quietly Drops 'Z' Branding From Its Folding Phones

pcmag.com:

It looks as though Samsung has quietly dropped the use of the letter "Z" from the name of its folding phones.

Samsung likes to use single letters to represent different series of phones, which is why we've had models split between the Galaxy A, Galaxy F, Galaxy M, Galaxy S, and Galaxy Z series. However, as Android Police reports, Samsung's latest folding phone models have dropped the "Z" in certain Eastern European locations, including Estonia and Latvia, where they are now called the Galaxy Fold3 and Galaxy Flip3.

The last letter of the alphabet is no longer viewed in a positive light because it's been painted on Russian military vehicles taking part in the invasion of Ukraine. That spurred anyone who supports the war and Russia's actions to start displaying "Z" as a symbol. High-profile examples include Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak and the English-language, Kremlin-backed news channel RT.

If that wasn't enough of an incentive for Samsung to stop using "Z" in its branding, Politico reports that Germany is set to take legal action against anyone using a "Z" symbol to demonstrate support for the war. That could get very awkward very quickly for the company.

Android Police believes this isn't a global branding change yet, but new packaging for the Flip and Fold phones is apparently being printed at the moment. I'd be surprised if this wasn't changed globally, though.

So far, there's been no official word from Samsung on the name changes. We reached out to the company and will update this post if we receive an official comment on the matter.

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