Despite growing competition in the market, Samsung expects its newly launched foldable smartphones to fare a lot better than their predecessors. The company is looking to sell 50 percent more units of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 than the 2022 models. It sees foldables making up more than 20 percent of all Galaxy smartphone sales in 2023.
Samsung unveiled its fifth-gen foldables on July 26. Shortly after the launch event, the company’s mobile head TM Roh revealed that the foldable category is all set to surpass the now-discontinued Galaxy Note lineup in overall annual sales this year. It’s a big accomplishment considering the popularity of the Note phones. But Samsung’s foldable ambition is much bigger.
The Korean firm wants to make foldables mainstream. It has leveraged its first-mover advantage to grab a stronghold in the market. But as more firms enter the scene, Samsung has to work on improving its products to stay ahead of the curve. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 bring a few notable improvements, including a flat-folding design and a bigger cover screen on the Flip model.
Samsung expects these improvements to help drive sales. According to Roh, the company sold about ten million units of its 2022 foldables last year. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 accounted for 60 percent of total sales. This year, the Korean firm is aiming to sell about 15 million units of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 combined (via). The Flip model is expected to take an even bigger share.
Research firms have estimated the global foldable market to grow to 20 million units in 2023. If Samsung hits its sales target for the year, it will capture about 75 percent of the market. In other words, three of every four foldable smartphones sold globally this year would be a Galaxy. That’s huge when you consider that nine more brands are expected to have a foldable in the market in 2023.
South Korea could be a key foldable market for Samsung in 2023
Samsung’s home country South Korea is one of its biggest foldable markets. Roh says the company expects foldables to comprise one-third (33 percent) of all Galaxy smartphone sales in the country this year. That’s significantly higher than the predicted global average of 20 percent. Time will tell whether the Korean biggie achieves its goals. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 are currently available for pre-order in most global markets. Pre-orders in South Korea will begin tomorrow, August 1. General sales start on August 11.
2023-07-31 15:12:45