According to Korean media The Elec, Samsung plans to launch the entry-level Galaxy Z Fold6 folding screen phone this year to further consolidate its share of the foldable phone market and, more importantly, actively explore the Chinese market.
This is the first time that Samsung Electronics has considered developing an entry-level folding screen mobile phone. However, Samsung believes that there are many uncertainties in the business environment this year and is worried that the launch of entry-level folding screen mobile phones will have a negative impact on Samsung Electronics’ profitability.
After Samsung launched its first foldable screen phone Galaxy Fold in 2019, it launched two product lines, Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip. There will be a fixed replacement cycle from 2020 to 2023, with one model launched every year.
▲ Picture source Samsung official website
The latest models in 2023 are Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5. If the news is true, there may be three models in this series this year: Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6 and the entry-level Galaxy Z Fold6.
According to data released by market research firm DSCC, changes in global foldable mobile phone shipments share from the first quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2023. Samsung’s share increased significantly after launching a new foldable mobile phone in the third quarter.
Samsung Electronics ranked third in China’s foldable phone shipment share in the third quarter of 2023, accounting for 19%, according to market research firm OMDIA. Honor ranked first with 28%, and Huawei ranked second with 26%.
Data released by another institution, Counterpoint Research, show that China’s foldable smartphone market will show exponential growth in 2023, with a year-on-year growth of 106% in the third quarter. Honor’s Magic V2 was the best-selling model this quarter.
Huawei has a market share of 34%, Samsung has a market share of 21%, and Honor has a market share of 16%.
In the third quarter of last year, Honor (July), Samsung (August), Xiaomi (August) and Huawei (September) each launched new foldable phones.
It was reported in July 2023 that Samsung Electronics President Lu Taiwen predicted, citing reports from multiple industry research institutions, that global sales of foldable mobile phones are expected to exceed 100 million units per year in the next few years.
Roh Tae-moon said Samsung aims to have its foldable phones account for more than 20% of Galaxy flagship model sales in 2023. In addition, Samsung Electronics seeks to increase the share of global sales of foldable phones to 25% by 2025, becoming a performance pillar along with the Galaxy S flagship series and making foldable phones a key category of high-end models.
