According to The Elec (Korea), Samsung is researching a cheaper Galaxy Fold folding screen smartphone model in response to the challenges that many Chinese companies are taking.
Samsung has proven its position in the folding screen smartphone segment with the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series, the company has always focused on the high-end segment. However, market trends and increasing competition, especially in China, appear to have led to a change in the company's strategy.
Besides the high-end Galaxy Z Fold 6 model that Samsung is working on, they will also introduce a cheaper variant of the Galaxy Z Fold 6, along with the Galaxy Z Flip 6 in the second half of this year. This will be Samsung's biggest push for folding screen devices, including 3 models with different prices.
Recent research from Omdia shows that Samsung is currently ranked third in the folding screen smartphone segment in China, behind Honor and Huawei. In the third quarter of 2023, Samsung won 19% market share, behind Honor (28%) and Huawei (26%).
Research firm DSCC forecasts that global foldable smartphone shipments will increase 23% this year to 15.8 million units, signaling growing consumer interest. The arrival of the cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 6 could be a game changer for Samsung in China.
Samsung's current folding screen smartphones, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 5, are significantly thicker than flat smartphones when folded. But rivals like Huawei and Oppo have introduced thinner and more compact folding screen designs, which have been well received in China.
However, Samsung is still very optimistic as the company boldly predicted that global demand for foldable OLED screen smartphones will increase 10 times in the next 5 years, reaching 100 million units. So, Samsung will need to address the challenges of thickness and price to truly penetrate the market. Additionally, the company may see Galaxy AI as a weapon to attract customers to its devices.
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