Samsung expects foldable Galaxy Z series shipments to overtake Galaxy S series in three years. Current market conditions have slowed sales of premium smartphones, but the new form factor should help.
By 2025, foldable items will make up more than 50% of Samsung’s premium smartphone shipments, said TM Roh, president of Samsung’s Mobile Experience Business. Foldable smartphones will be the norm.”
Omdia predicts 9 million foldable shipments in 2021, up 309% from 2020. The Galaxy Z Flip3 and Z Fold3 sold 7.1 million units combined by year’s end (and they only launched in August 2021).
More people buy cheaper Z Flip models. The Z Flip3 shipped 4.6 million of the Z-series’ 7.1 million units last year. In Q1 2022, it shipped over 1 million foldables, accounting for half of all foldables shipped.
Roh Tae-moon told The Korea Herald that foldable phones will be the new standard by 2025. To achieve its goals by 2025, Samsung must penetrate the midrange market and offer options to those who can’t afford premium devices. Foldable device demand has grown more than 300% in the last year. In the first month since launch, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 outsold all of its foldable devices in 2020.
Samsung dominates the foldable segment, but Oppo, Xiaomi, and Motorola are coming. Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 is powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. Motorola also launched the foldable Razr 2022. Currently, Oppo and Xiaomi phones are limited to China. What happens when foldables go global?
The new Galaxy Z models cost the same as their predecessors ($1,000 for the Flip, $1,800 for the Fold), so Samsung may ship more Flip4s than Fold4s. Samsung must bring foldables to the mid-range segment if they are to become “the new standard of smartphones.”