Samsung may be about to reverse one of its more talked-about design decisions. A fresh leak suggests the Galaxy Z Fold9, expected in 2027, will bring back the under-display selfie camera, a feature dropped from its foldable line-up in 2025. If the claim holds, the phone’s large inner screen would once again be free of any visible camera hole.
The report comes from tipster @kro_roe on X, who says Samsung is preparing a device with an under-display camera, major changes inside, and only minimal changes to thickness and design. Samsung itself has said nothing about the device, so for now the story rests on a single leak, but it points to a company reconsidering a recent trade-off just as a powerful new rival is expected to enter the foldable market.
Samsung Could Bring Back Its Hidden Selfie Camera
Samsung first fitted an under-display camera to a foldable with the Galaxy Z Fold3 in 2021. The idea was simple: hide the selfie camera beneath the screen itself, so that when the phone was unfolded there was no notch or punch-hole breaking up the display. The camera stayed through successive generations, up to and including the Galaxy Z Fold6, and it became one of the line’s signature touches.
That changed with the Galaxy Z Fold7 in 2025, when Samsung went back to a conventional punch-hole camera on the inner display. The Galaxy Z Fold8 and the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra followed the same route. The move was widely read as a practical one: a camera hidden under a display has to gather light through the screen itself, which tends to soften images, while a punch-hole gives the sensor a clear view and image quality improves immediately.
Now, according to the new leak, Samsung could be ready to reverse that decision with the Galaxy Z Fold9, although the exact camera specifications are still unknown. The leak speaks of an under-display camera and major internal changes, but minimal changes to thickness and design, which suggests Samsung believes it can now deliver the clean-screen look without giving up as much on camera quality as before. None of that is confirmed, and the leak does not say how Samsung has achieved it.
For buyers, the appeal is clear: a foldable’s main selling point is its big inner screen, and a display with no hole in it feels closer to a small tablet than a phone.
Galaxy Z Fold9 Could Also Become Much Thinner
The camera is not the only area where the Fold9 is rumoured to change. Earlier this month, the same tipster claimed Samsung had already started developing the phone and was targeting just 3.9 millimetres unfolded and 7.9 millimetres folded. Set against the wide Galaxy Z Fold8, at 4.5 millimetres unfolded and 9.7 millimetres folded, that would make the new phone 0.6 millimetres thinner when open and 1.8 millimetres thinner when closed, meaningful reductions for a device that must fit a hinge, two screens and a battery into a folding body.
There is, however, some uncertainty around these figures. The latest leak talks about minimal changes to thickness and design, which does not sit neatly alongside the earlier claim of a noticeably thinner device. The reported dimensions may be early development targets since revised, or they may describe a different version of the phone. Until more reports appear, the thickness question should be treated as open.
Samsung Preparing to Compete With Apple’s Foldable
The timing of this leak is unlikely to be a coincidence. The tipster also claims Samsung is developing the Galaxy Z Fold9 as a direct competitor to Apple’s first foldable phone, referred to in the leak as the iPhone Duo, which reportedly features a 4-megapixel under-display selfie camera on its inner screen. If that is accurate, Samsung bringing back its own hidden camera would put the two phones on a more equal footing in terms of viewing experience.
This is a contest Samsung cannot afford to treat lightly. It has spent years building the foldable category almost single-handedly, and Apple’s entry would give its customers a high-profile alternative for the first time. Matching Apple on the clean-screen experience would therefore matter as a competitive statement. At the same time, the under-display camera remains a genuine engineering challenge, and Samsung has not revealed whether it has developed an improved version of the technology.
Expected Launch Date
Samsung has not announced a launch date for the Galaxy Z Fold9, and there is no confirmed information about its processor, battery, cameras, display sizes or pricing. Based on the company’s usual release schedule, the device could arrive in the second half of 2027.
For now, then, the under-display camera and the thinner design remain unconfirmed rumours from a single source. What is clear is the direction of travel: the foldable market is moving towards cleaner screens, thinner bodies and fiercer competition, and Samsung’s next foldable will be judged against all three. If the Fold9 does bring back the hidden camera, it will be a sign that Samsung believes the technology has finally matured enough to carry its flagship.
