Today, Samsung is all about folding smartphones and for the moment, no manufacturer manages to worry about it in this brand new market. Thus, without real competition, the Korean giant sees its sales explode.
In 2021, thanks to the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung was able to ship 10 million folding smartphones worldwide. “This is an industry increase of over 300% from 2020, and I predict this rapid growth will continue. We are coming at a time when these foldable devices are going mainstream and claiming a bigger place in the overall smartphone market.”said TM Roh, head of Samsung’s mobile division, in a statement in July.
Twice as many pre-orders
Since the next generation Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 have just been released, it’s still too early to talk about the sales of these models. But in any case, the first signs are encouraging for the Korean giant.
As a reminder, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 were presented on August 10. But Samsung is already talking about a record pre-order level for these two models, in France. More precisely, twice as many Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 have been sold for pre-order in France this year than Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 during the pre-order period for these two models in 2021. .
“After creating the foldable smartphone category in 2019, we are delighted to see that consumers have embraced this new format to improve their daily lives and rethink their use of smartphones. We are very satisfied with the start of this category, which is gaining strong momentum with consumers”said François Hernandez, Vice-President and Director of the Mobile eXperience division of Samsung Electronics France.
“Each year, the new generation of foldable smartphones outsells the previous one, and the pre-order figures for the Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Z Fold4 suggest an exponential increase in demand in the near future. As the creator and leader of this category, we can’t wait for users to receive their smartphones and experience the latest innovations and improvements in the Galaxy Z series.”
Galaxy Z Flip4 at the best price
Base price: €1,109
See more offers
And if you think people only flocked to the Galaxy Z Flip 4 (the clamshell folding phone), which is the cheapest model, you’d be wrong. Indeed, Samsung France indicates that 60% of pre-ordered units were Galaxy Z Flip 4 while 40% were Galaxy Z Fold 4.
A priori, more and more people are therefore interested in hybrid smartphones / tablets from Samsung. Indeed, in 2021, globally, this format (the Galaxy Z Fold) had only a 30% share of Samsung’s folding smartphone shipments. While the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and its clamshell format attract mainly thanks to its design, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 is a real productivity tool, thanks to its ability to turn into a tablet.
It remains to be seen whether Samsung will manage to keep this pace, at a time when the tech sector is marked by the end of abundance. It should be noted, however, that the macroeconomic context affects the sales of affordable devices more than high-end products like these new folding smartphones from Samsung.
