Rumor: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 has titanium casing – Tablets and phones – News

materials scientist here:
In terms of beneficial properties, there are titanium alloys that are quite good for a phone, but it is quite exaggerated in the marketing. The aluminum that Samsung calls “Armor” is most likely an alloy from the 2xxx series aluminum. Most people call that “Space Grade Aluminum” or “Aircraft Aluminum”. (They are so good at marketing)
Because I don’t know which alloy aluminum it is, I assume aluminum 2024. One of the most commonly used “Aircraft Aluminum” alloys.
In relation to weight, this is slightly less strong than “Grade 5” titanium or Ti6Al4V (6% aluminum and 4% vanadium). However, grade 5 titanium is a pretty poor conductor of heat. about 20x worse than 2024.
That is a problem for the SoC and other components that have to dissipate heat through the housing.

Samsung uses “Grade 2” titanium. This is even slightly less stiff per weight than their aluminum alloy. The thermal conductivity is better than Grade 5, but still approximately 7x worse than 2024.

What titanium is really a lot better for is corrosion resistance. But there are enough coatings that are frequently used that ensure that this is not a problem for aluminum alloys either. (Many aluminum alloys are also corrosion resistant, but the 2xxx alloys are slightly less resistant to this.)

In short, a more expensive material is not always better for the application. A gold telephone is also very heavy.