Samsung foldables have exceeded annual sales of its discontinued Note series in Europe, the company announced at the IFA 2023 event in Berlin, Germany today. The Korean firm didn’t reveal the sales figures but said that foldable smartphones are no longer niche products. They are now mainstream and rapidly growing in popularity.
“Our latest foldable phones are selling super-fast,” said Benjamin Braun, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Europe. “In fact, the annual sales of our foldable devices have exceeded the Note series in Europe,” he added. Braun’s comments come just a few weeks after Samsung released its latest folding phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. As expected, the Flip model has outsold the Fold by a 7:3 ratio in the region so far.
The new models bring a handful of upgrades over previous-gen offerings. Most notably, Samsung has redesigned the hinge to allow for gapless folding. The Flip model also features a much bigger cover display, letting you get a lot of things done without unfolding the device. Immediately after their launch in late July, Samsung’s mobile chief TM Roh said that the company is expecting the foldable category to outsell the Note series this year.
While that doesn’t seem to have happened on a global scale yet, Galaxy foldables are making inroads into the mainstream smartphone market. If pre-orders are anything to go by, then the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 should sell in much higher numbers than the 2022 models. Samsung estimates sales to grow 50 percent this year, reaching 15 million units globally. Early signs are promising, but it still has a long way to go.
The competition is heating up in the foldable market
If Samsung hits its annual sales target for the latest foldables, it will end up capturing almost 75 percent of the global market. That’s based on industry estimates that the foldable market may grow to 20 million units this year. The Korean firm does have a strong foothold in the market. After all, it’s been selling foldables since 2019. Samsung is the only brand that has been selling foldable phones worldwide for the past few years.
However, it now faces stiff competition from other brands. The foldable market welcomed new players like Google, Tecno, and a few others this year. Along with some existing brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Motorola, they are all trying to eat into Samsung’s share as they look to carve out a market for themselves. It remains to be seen how long the Korean behemoth can hold onto a lion’s share in the foldable market.
2023-09-01 15:07:00