It seems that my wish has finally been granted, as Samsung has recently started to remove the Z branding from its foldable devices. The reason behind this decision isn’t clear, but it seems that it has something to do with the ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine.

In a very curious turn of events, Samsung has been dropping the “Z” branding from its latest foldables, well, at least in some parts of Europe. As a result, Samsung’s official websites in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are now listing the Samsung Galaxy Fold 3 and Galaxy Flip 3. Still, the interesting part is that Samsung hasn’t made any kind of statement about the change. Further, the URLs on every site still feature the “Z” branding, which means this change has been recent. And to make things even more interesting, the change hasn’t been applied to Samsung’s official Ukraine website, as both devices are still appearing with the Z branding.

Source: Samsung Ukraine.

We must also consider that this change will only be limited to European countries, as Samsung’s foldable devices still carry the Z branding on most official websites. And who knows, maybe Samsung will return to its regular naming practices after the conflict is over, which would also mean that’s there no need to change the URLs of the existing products.

“Over the past month, the symbol “Z” has become synonymous with the Russian military, something that former Soviet bloc countries aren’t too thrilled about. The anti-Russia sentiment in these regions could be quite high, because of their proximity to the country. It remains to be seen if Samsung decided to rename its foldables globally as a sign of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”

Source: CNN

There are several explanations for the reason behind the Z spotted on several Russian tanks. Some suggest that these were made to help avoid friendly fire between Russian vehicles and Ukrainian tanks, as they are of the same model. This would also explain the other symbols seen in Russian forces. However, others believe that these symbols will depend on the location of the vehicles, which could also help understand why some tanks have a V or an O painted on them. But there is a third explanation based on an alleged post made by the Russian Ministry of Defence, which explains that:

The “Z” symbol is an abbreviation of the phrase “for victory” (Russian: за победу, romanized: za pobedu), while the “V” symbol stands for “Our strength is in truth.”

Via SamMobile