KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 ― During its Raya open house yesterday, Samsung Malaysia Electronics demonstrated new optimised third-party apps for the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip foldables. The presentation, which included representatives from local partners AmBank, FamilyMart, Maxis, Pay4U and Zus Coffee, comes amid rumours of the new Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5’s imminent arrival.
In particular, Samsung Malaysia showed off dual-pane interface designs for AmBank, Maxis and Zus Coffee, taking full advantage of the Z Fold 4’s generous inner screen real estate. It also touted faster and more seamless switching between the inner and outer displays, along with native multitasking support.
There’s also Flex Mode functionality built into the FamilyMart and Zus Coffee apps, letting users scroll through lists on the bottom half of the screen when the device is partly folded. This works on both the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4.
Samsung Malaysia is also promising more optimised apps from the likes of Gigi Coffee, Golden Screen Cinemas, TGV Cinemas and Zapp in the coming months. Additionally, the company is holding a hackathon with the participation of local universities, allowing students to pitch foldable app ideas.
“At Samsung, we are passionate about making mobile innovation relevant to consumers,” said Samsung Malaysia Mobile eXperience product marketing head Luke Au. “In our bid to mainstream foldable smartphones, we are collaborating with homegrown brands to create unique, local Galaxy Z experiences on their apps that Malaysians use on a daily basis, and bring it closer to their hearts. We invite more local organisations to be a part of this industry collaboration and deliver better experiences to their customers.”
The increased optimisation comes amid stiffer competition from companies like Oppo, which itself is working on greater third-party app integration for its Find N2 Flip. Samsung will respond to the increasingly saturated foldable market with its next Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5, widely tipped to be revealed at the end of July. ― SoyaCincau
