Does Samsung even have a game plan for its foldables?
Samsung recently announced its latest foldable smartphones – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6. Undoubtedly, these two are some of the most powerful foldables in the market right now, but at the same time, the launch felt kind of meh and underwhelming. We have to wonder, does Samsung have a game plan for its foldables?
More of the same
There are hardware changes made under the hood. Both phones are more powerful than its predecessors thanks to the use of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. However, other than performance upgrades, both phones feel the same. Unless you have an actual need for the boost in performance, they don’t feel too different from their predecessors.
Samsung has largely kept the overall design of both phones. They might sport flatter edges, but they still look very much the same. In fact, the dimensions of both devices are near-identical. The displays of both phones also remain the same as the previous models, with maybe an increase in peak brightness, but like we said, it’s more of the same thing.
Samsung has upgraded the cameras for the Flip 6, but for the Fold 6, there are no changes. It kind of makes us question if there is a point in upgrading to the Fold 6 or Flip 6 when there’s a chance that the Fold 5 and Flip 5 will be cheaper.
Killer competition
The lack of changes really makes us feel that Samsung isn’t really even trying anymore. This is versus the competition who seem to be more interested in improving their foldable phones or at least are making them more competitive. Take for example the recently launched Motorola Razr 2024 phones. Motorola managed to make a foldable that’s cheaper than the Flip 6 by several hundred dollars!
Even Honor is exploring ways of making their foldables thinner, like with the Magic V2 RSR, which is currently the world’s thinnest foldable. At 9.9mm, it is considerably thinner than the Fold 6 which measures 12.1mm thin.
It is a bit of a pity given that Samsung was one of the first to the market with foldables and helped popularize the form factor. They had a considerable lead over the competition, one that they should have taken advantage of, but now it feels like they’re lagging behind.
Stepping stone to something better
We can’t really blame Samsung for not trying as hard with its foldables compared to its Galaxy S-series of flagship phones. Based on the numbers, it is estimated that the Galaxy S23 series sold over 20 million units in 2023. This is versus the total number of foldables sold in 2023 which was estimated to be around 16 million. Keep in mind that this number is for the total number of foldables, in which Samsung commands about 60% of the market.
This means at the end of the day, it is still more profitable for Samsung to push its Galaxy S-series rather than its foldables, which we imagine are pretty expensive to produce due to the components like the foldable display and the hinge mechanism.
It is possible that Samsung has bigger and grander plans for foldables that aren’t just limited to smartphones. Maybe the use of foldable display technology is a stepping stone to something larger, like a tablet that can be unfolded into a larger display. Or maybe a portable display that can slip into a bag with your laptop that can extend into something bigger.
Or maybe it could see other applications beyond consumer devices. That’s what we’re hoping for, otherwise at the rate Samsung is going, we wouldn’t be surprised if more Chinese OEMs were to eat into their market share.
Conclusion
Don’t get us wrong, Samsung makes some of the best smartphones out there. But the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 feels extremely lackluster compared to what the competition is releasing. We’re hoping that Samsung has a game plan for its foldables because it would be a shame to squander the lead that they are enjoying.
Should you get the new Fold 6 or Flip 6? Both phones are worthwhile upgrades if you’re coming from a much older foldable, or if you’re looking to get your first foldable smartphone. But for those who have the Fold 4, Fold 5, Flip 4, or Flip 5, it honestly doesn’t feel particularly compelling.