Samsung shipped 10 million Galaxy foldables last year — so why haven’t you seen any?
After the usual round of leaks and rumors, Samsung is all set to announce theGalaxy Z Flip4andFold4at anUnpacked event on August 10. Ahead of that, Samsung Electronics President TM Roh haspublished an editorialteasing the foldable devices and giving an insight into the success of theGalaxy Z Fold3and Flip3 from last year.
Roh says that Samsung shipped “almost 10 million” foldable smartphones in 2021, up 300% from 2020. The growth is expected to accelerate in the coming years as foldables take a bigger share of the smartphone market. Out of 10 million, 70% of customers purchased theGalaxy Z Flip3, likely thanks to its more reasonable price tag and compact form factor.
The strong sales of the Galaxy Z lineup since their latest models debuted last year shouldn’t be surprising. Both the Galaxy Z Flip3 and Fold offered massive upgrades over the outgoing models offering better durability, specs, and performance. The Z Flip3 also carried a more reasonable $999 price tag, making it the first foldable priced within typical smartphone costs. At $1,800, the Galaxy Z Fold3 is a lot more expensive, thoughdiscounts help make it a lot more affordable.
With its upcoming 2022 foldables, Roh teases Samsung has made “advancements in every detail and opened the new experiences” enabled by their folding form factor. Leaks indicate theGalaxy Z Fold4and Flip4 will not be a radical departure from the current models. Instead, they will be all about minor improvements to enhance their usability. The Korean giant is rumored to further reduce the display crease on both foldable devices to make it less noticeable. The Galaxy Z Fold4 might also switch to a new 50MP primary sensor, as seen on theGalaxy S22+and the regular S22, which should bring about a noticeable jump in image quality.
While we have arguably seenbetter foldables from Oppo, Vivo, and other OEMs, Samsung will continue to dominate this segment for the foreseeable future thanks to its wider reach and product availability. As these companies continue to sell more foldables with each passing year, you might even see regular people using them out on the street.
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