"Apple made me do it": the Galaxy S28 Ultra is reaching out for the 7-inch display, too

And, you know, what's true for these two quickly becomes the norm worldwide.

The blame game

We know the drill. Apple gets mocked for being late. Samsung gets praised for moving first. Then Apple does something and suddenly the entire industry starts moving in that direction anyway.

Well, it's almost predictable at this point.

The latest rumor says the iPhone 20 Pro Max could grow to a 7-inch display in 2027. That might not sound like a dramatic jump from today's Pro Max and Ultra flagships, but it's another step in a trend that's been going on for well over a decade. Smartphones have been getting bigger almost every year, and few are willing to say "Maybe we've gone far enough."

If Apple really goes to 7 inches, I'd be surprised if Samsung doesn't follow with the Galaxy S28 Ultra a few months later. When Apple makes a big design decision, Samsung pays attention.

Remember the thin obsession?

People love making fun of Apple for being slow, and honestly, the criticism isn't completely unfair.

Samsung released its first Galaxy Fold back in 2019. Apple is only expected to enter the foldable market in late 2026. That's a seven-year gap. In smartphone years, that's practically a lifetime.

But being first and being influential aren't the same thing.

Back in May 2024, rumors started circulating that Apple was working on an incredibly thin iPhone. And what do you know, some months later, the rumor mill suddenly had a new star: Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge. Whether the two projects influenced each other or simply reflected the same market trends is impossible to prove. Still, the timing was difficult to ignore.

Foldable for you, foldable for me

Same is happening with foldables.

Apple's first foldable is expected to adopt a wider form factor instead of the square-like design we've become used to. And Samsung started preparing the wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 of its own. Again, maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe not. Either way, both companies suddenly seem interested in the exact same direction.

To be fair, neither of them deserves a trophy for originality here. Huawei already explored this territory with the Pura X Max and showed that foldables don't have to be awkwardly tall. But for US buyers, Huawei is out of the picture and doesn't matter at all.

So could Samsung build a 7-inch Galaxy S Ultra?

Absolutely.

We're already sitting at 6.9 inches with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Scaling it up isn't exactly a revolution. In fact, most people probably wouldn't even notice the difference without putting two phones side by side. But psychologically, crossing the 7-inch line feels different and it feels like entering tablet territory.

Every year manufacturers tell us that a slightly larger display improves gaming, streaming, reading and multitasking. They're not wrong. Bigger screens are genuinely more enjoyable to use.

But carrying around what is essentially a small tablet starts feeling a little ridiculous. That's exactly the problem foldables were supposed to solve. They open into displays close to 8 inches while folding down into something that's much easier to carry.

What stops us from getting foldables?

I don't think the biggest obstacle is the crease anymore. Most people stop noticing it after a few minutes. Battery life has improved a lot as well, even if slab phones still have the advantage. Camera systems continue to favor traditional flagships, but foldables are getting closer every year.

None of those issues are deal-breakers… the real problem is that foldables are expensive.

Slab phones will keep getting larger, inching closer and closer to the size that foldables already offer when opened. Meanwhile, foldables will keep improving but remain stuck behind premium pricing.

Eventually those two lines have to meet somewhere. I better start saving right now!