Make no mistake, shipping 10 million foldable smartphones is a great achievement but Samsung appears to believe that range of smartphones is the next big thing and we disagree.
We’ll dive into our reasons in a bit but we have to provide some context. This week there was a “leak” in which the date for the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked was revealed. We use the word “leak” very loosely here as it happened just three days ago and this press release from Samsung sure wasn’t thrown together in that time.
The press release sees president and head of Samsung’s mobile communications business, TM Roh, waxing lyrically about how much Samsung users love the Fold and Flip range.
“Both foldable users have enthusiastically embraced what we have created. Their response is our biggest motivation to push forward, and that’s why we are committed to this journey of seeking new possibilities for mobile innovation,” writes Roh.
Now, about that 10 million figure. As we mentioned, it’s big but how big? According to data from the IDC in 2021, 1.35 billion smartphones from a range of brands were shipped. Leading the charge in that regard was Samsung with a market share of 20.1 percent after shipping 272 million units.
Foldables then accounted for just 3.6 percent of Samsung’s smartphone shipments in 2021. Of course, while this percentage is low, the Galaxy Flip and Fold smartphones are premium devices and we suspect that their contribution to Samsung’s bottom-line helps to keep the series alive.
The next step of this foldable journey begins on 10th August, Roh said.
“At our upcoming Unpacked on August 10th, you’ll see that the impact of our innovation is not only about what technology can do. It’s about what you can do. We’ve once again taken our inspiration from the most important source — Galaxy users — to push the limits of what’s possible,” he said.
“I can’t wait to show you the potential of our new Samsung Galaxy foldables as the ultimate tool for both productivity and self-expression. Now, you can do more than you ever thought possible, all at once, on one device,” concluded Roh.
We’re keen to see what Samsung has in store for the Fold and Flip series even though we doubt most folks will be able to afford picking up a smartphone that requires the gentlest touch at all times.
