What you need to know
- Samsung Display showed off a simulator at MWC 2026 that launched golf balls at foldable phones.
- The company’s latest foldable OLED panels have a new shock-resistant structure with stronger glass and a titanium backplate.
- The current Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rated for 500,000 folds, or more than double the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s rating.
Samsung’s foldable phones have come a long way since the first Galaxy Z Fold broke in the hands of reviewers in 2019. More than half a decade later, we’re seeing foldables finally solve the durability problem. The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold became the first folding phone with an IP68 rating, while the Honor Magic V6 just launched as the first foldable with an IP69 certification. Samsung hasn’t quite got its dust resistance up to par with Google or Honor, but it is very confident about the strength of its folding displays.
Just how confident? At CES 2026, Samsung Display sent full-size basketballs flying at a backboard made entirely out of folding phones. They didn’t break, and it was surely impressive. That test might’ve been favorable to foldables, because a basketball has a large surface area and is softer than other sporting equipment. So, for MWC 2026, Samsung Display took that test to the next level by building a golf simulator that launches real golf balls at foldable phones.
You can see the demonstration for yourself in the video below, and I saw it with my own eyes — Samsung’s foldable displays survived.
It’s hard to understate just how impressive this test is. For the most part, the hard golf balls are hitting the exact same part of the folding display, over and over. There are usually over 100,000 attendees at MWC, so golf balls have been slammed into the same foldable display thousands of times over the course of the show — or more.
And the “Robot Shooting Challenge” test is back again, too. I never imagined seeing a backboard made of folding phones, but here we are. You can see how that went in the video below.
Yes, these are simulated environments that don’t necessarily reflect real-world use, but it’s still cool to see Samsung improve the durability of its foldables. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 launched last year with the ability to survive more than 500,000 folds, which is a major upgrade over the Galaxy Z Fold 6’s 200,000-fold rating. There’s also a new shock-resistant structure for Samsung’s latest foldable OLED displays, and that surely helped them survive golf balls and basketballs.
The Samsung foldable OLED displays have an “Ultra Thin Glass” layer that is now 50% thicker and a flattening structure that dissipates the force of a shock across the entire display evenly. Behind the display, there is also a titanium backing plate that also helps with rigidity and shock protection. In the real world, this means your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 should be able to survive drops and dings.
Android Central’s Take
Samsung seems to be the industry-leader in foldable display durability, but I’d like to see it improve the overall durability of its phones. It’d be nice to see the next Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 ship with an IP68 or IP69 certification for better dust protection. Otherwise, I’ve used the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for months at various points post-launch, and its durability is the real deal.
