Samsung will present its foldable smartphones at an event to be held on August 10 and in preparation for that it has boasted sales of around 10 million units of the current generation of foldable devices. The fourth generation of the foldables is not expected to show substantial changes, except for stylus support in the Fold 4 model and a larger external screen in the Flip 4. It is not clear whether the price will drop or remain the same as in the current generation. The Fold and Flip 3 devices were introduced in August 2021 and became very popular despite their high price. The Fold 3 devices sold for $1,800 and the smaller Flip 3 for about $1,000 — much more than competing premium smartphones such as the iPhone 13 Pro Max.
The director of the company’s mobile division, Dr. TM Rowe, said that the increase in sales reached about 300% compared to the second generation launched in 2020. Not surprisingly, the most popular model was the smaller Flip 3 that resembles a folding cell phone from the early 2000s. About 70% of folding sales were of this model and Samsung even admitted that this model is responsible for more transitions from other brands than its leading flagship series – the Galaxy S22.
Samsung’s competitors have not yet introduced devices that managed to beat it in this category. Apple did not join the celebration, Xiaomi introduced a foldable device but only in China and so did OPPO and Huawei before it was blocked from selling phones in the global market. Samsung’s only competitor in the US market – Motorola – has been trying for several years to offer the RAZR, which rides on its iconic design from the 90s and early 2000s. It is also expected to introduce a new, third generation of this model in the coming weeks, but it is not clear if its specifications will be able to compete with Samsung’s products. The RAZR is also sold at a very high price but offers less advanced specifications than Samsung’s devices.
Folding smartphones have become a growing category due to the fact that it is a small device with a large screen in a relatively compact configuration. For example, the Fold manages to squeeze the screen of a small tablet into a device the size of an advanced premium smartphone such as the iPhone 13 Pro Max or the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. The Flip manages to offer the screen of a large smartphone in a small configuration half the size of an average device today. However, the most interesting design of foldable devices is the one that failed to reach the market: LG, Samsung’s historical rival worked on a device with a rolling screen, but the closure of its mobile division buried this product.
A demo video was recently shown showing what the market missed out on as a result:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFAmEO53yEY