Samsung Electronics said today that it will push foldable screen phones into the mainstream and that their sales will surpass those of the Galaxy Note series. Samsung said the company is looking to boost sales of folding screen phones to improve the profitability of its mobile division. Samsung Electronics mobile division is currently suffering due to rising material costs and weakening consumer demand.
In 2011, Samsung Electronics first launched the Note series of smartphones. Over the years, with larger screen size, the Note series of phones has been a modest success.
But as smartphone screens continued to grow, including Samsung’s own Galaxy S series, forcing the Note phones eventually cease production. the Note 20 was released in 2020 and was the last phone in the Note series. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics filled the void with the Galaxy S Ultra model.
In 2019, Samsung Electronics launched its first folding screen phone, the Galaxy Fold. since then, Samsung Electronics has released a number of other models of folding screen phones. But to date, the foldable screen phone is still a “niche” product in the overall smartphone market.
And Samsung Electronics said today that it wants to turn them into “mainstream” products to improve the profitability of its smartphone division. Sung Koo Kim, vice president of Samsung Electronics’ mobile experience division, said on a conference call today, “We will continue to maintain the sales momentum of the Galaxy S series phones in the second half of this year. In addition, we will also launch a new folding screen phone and drive its sales beyond those of the Note series.”
It is unclear when the Samsung foldable screen phone sales will surpass the Note series. But for reference, the Samsung Note series phones shipped 190 million units over their entire lifecycle. So far, Samsung’s foldable screen phones have shipped just over 10 million units.
Samsung Electronics plans to release a new folding screen phone next month. Currently, Samsung’s two latest folding-screen phones are Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 3, with cumulative sales of about 8 million units so far.
Bryan Ma, an analyst at authoritative research firm IDC, said, “It makes sense for Samsung to bet on foldable products: it’s a high-end and high-margin product that can push up the average sales price and set Samsung apart from the competition.”
Brian Ma added: “Even though the Note series still has a loyal fan base, it’s still a decade-old product. Betting on a foldable screen phone will allow Samsung to stay ahead of the game.”
The profitability of its smartphone division has also been a major concern for Samsung Electronics. In the second quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics mobile business saw a decline in profits from a year earlier due to rising costs and unfavorable currency effects. However, at the same time, revenue grew year-over-year due to increased sales of high-end products such as the Galaxy S22 smartphone and Tab S8 tablet PC.
Samsung Electronics expects the smartphone market to remain flat or grow modestly in the second half of this year, and foldable screen phones will be key to improving profitability.
