With the Galaxy Fold 4 and the Flip 4, Samsung Wants to Become the Leader of the Foldable Phone.

Samsung wants to capitalize on its first-mover advantage.

This time, Samsung has seen things in big! No question of skimping on the means for the Galaxy Fold 4 and the Flip 4, the two new foldable smartphones launched Wednesday, August 10, 2022, by the South Korean giant.

For the occasion, the world's number one phone manufacturer has set up a huge showroom in Piccadilly Circus, London, with a “guided tour” and hundreds of models scattered throughout the floors plunged into the dark. Here, the new folding chairs cover a whole wall, like a contemporary art installation.

There, a machine folds and unfolds the smartphones without stopping. In the course of a lifetime, these new babies can be opened and closed up to 200,000 times.

Samsung persists with high prices

If Samsung has staged so much in its last two models, it is because the group intends to become the leader in this niche segment. This is the fourth foldable smartphone launched by Korean since the very first in 2019. Meanwhile, Samsung has taken into account the feedback of its users. The new Fold opens like a book to an even larger screen, while being lighter (263 grams) and more shock-resistant. The Flip opens vertically, like an eyeshadow palette. It will also be possible to customize it by choosing from 75 colors.

Despite these improvements, the two models arrive at a context at first glance not very conducive. The war in Ukraine and the confinements in China have caused global smartphone shipments to plunge for the fourth quarter in a row, with a 7% drop between April and June 2022, according to Strategy Analytics.

Above all, consumers are tightening their belts in these times of inflation (+8.5% in July 2022 in America). But this time, Samsung has not lowered its prices. The Flip starts at $999 and goes up to $1,179. It should appeal to millennials and influencers, with the ability to film Reels or TikTok without a tripod, by placing it in an “L” shape on a table …

The Fold still starts at $1,799. But you’ll have to pay … $2,159 for the version with 1 terabyte of data. A hefty sum even for the most technophiles for whom it is primarily intended. And yet, Samsung perseveres.

The South Korean giant has all the more interest to accelerate as it is alone in this segment. Due to American sanctions, Huawei has not launched a new foldable since its first one in 2019. Apple, for its part, has not yet taken this turn. In this context, the Korean giant intends to use these models to show its technological know-how, and to make it radiate on the rest of its range.

On the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4, a taskbar like on a PC

Above all, the growth prospects are there. Today, foldable devices are still in the minority: barely 8.9 million units will be sold in 2021 in a market worth billions. But the segment is growing faster (+148% last year) than the rest of the market (+7%), according to Canalys.

Foldables are expected to continue to grow at a rate of 53% per year until 2024 when they will reach 30 million units. That's because foldable phones are being driven by telecommuting and the explosion of video streaming. The screen is the primary purchase lever, they are true portable cinemas.

For teleworkers, the Fold will include for the first time a taskbar, like the one on a PC, with the possibility to drag and drop between applications or to split the screen. There's no doubt about it, the start of the school year is approaching, and Samsung wants to score points against its competitors in the phone industry.