Samsung built the foldable smartphone market, now it must defend it
Samsung will take the wraps off its latest Galaxy Z Fold and Flip lineup this week, launching what could be the company's most important foldable smartphones since it introduced the category nearly seven years ago. The timing, as any good batsman would tell you, matters here. The South Korean giant is preparing to unveil a redesigned Galaxy Z Fold 8 family — including a wider Fold variant — alongside the Flip 8, betting that better usability, improved durability and AI features can reignite demand for a category that has struggled to break into the mainstream. Samsung has also confirmed a new titanium-based display structure aimed at reducing creases and improving durability, addressing two of the biggest criticisms of foldables.
Yet Samsung enters this launch from an unfamiliar position. It remains the most recognisable foldable brand globally, but it is no longer the market leader. According to Smart Analytics Global (SAG), global foldable smartphone shipments declined 2% year-on-year to 3.4 million units in the June quarter, outperforming the overall smartphone market, which fell an estimated 8%. Huawei captured a commanding 48% market share, while Samsung posted one of the strongest performances among major brands, growing shipments 25% year-on-year on the back of healthy demand for the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7. The question is no longer whether Samsung can build the best foldable. It is whether it can finally convince millions of mainstream consumers that foldables deserve to replace conventional smartphones.
The category Samsung built is no longer its alone
Samsung deserves enormous credit for creating today's foldable smartphone market. When it launched the original Galaxy Fold in 2019, foldables were experimental, expensive and fragile. Early devices suffered from display failures and awkward form factors, but Samsung persisted, refining hinges, improving water resistance, reducing weight and gradually bringing prices down. Ironically, those same improvements have also made it easier for rivals to catch up.
Huawei now leads the global market largely because China has become the world's biggest foldable market. Consumers there have embraced book-style foldables far more enthusiastically than buyers in North America and Europe, helped by intense competition, faster product cycles and increasingly polished hardware. Honor, for instance, recorded the fastest shipment growth among major vendors in the June quarter, with shipments jumping 82% year-on-year after expanding availability of its Magic V6 lineup across China and overseas markets. Motorola retained the No. 3 position despite weaker shipments, reflecting a slower product cycle.
Analysts see Samsung returning to top position globally after Galaxy Z Fold 8 series launch
Samsung's response this year appears to be less about adding features and more about fixing long-standing compromises. The company is widely expected to introduce a wider Fold design that resembles a conventional smartphone when closed — one of the most frequent requests from users who found earlier Fold models too narrow. Reports also point to thinner designs, improved cameras and a new Ultra variant targeted at premium buyers willing to pay for the best hardware.
That matters because hardware alone has rarely been the biggest obstacle for foldables. Consumers have consistently questioned whether foldables justify their significantly higher prices, whether app optimisation is good enough and whether they are durable enough for everyday use. Samsung appears to be addressing all three simultaneously.
Industry analysts believe these changes could help Samsung reclaim the global leadership position in the September quarter as new devices reach stores, even if Huawei remains dominant in China. But reclaiming quarterly leadership is only one battle. The bigger one begins next year.
The Apple question hangs over every foldable launch
Every discussion around foldables now inevitably leads to Apple. Industry expectations are increasingly converging around Apple's first foldable iPhone arriving within the next product cycle. While Apple has entered the segment years later than rivals, that delay could ultimately benefit the category rather than hurt it.
SAG expects Apple to become the global foldable smartphone leader from 2027 as millions of iPhone users enter the segment, accelerating worldwide adoption. History offers some support for that view.
Apple was late to larger smartphones, OLED displays, 5G and smartwatches, yet each category expanded rapidly once the company entered. Apple's strength lies less in inventing hardware categories than in making them accessible to mainstream consumers. That creates an unusual dynamic for Samsung. In the short term, Apple represents the biggest competitive threat Samsung has faced in foldables. In the longer term, Apple could also become Samsung's biggest ally.
Yet Samsung enters this launch from an unfamiliar position. It remains the most recognisable foldable brand globally, but it is no longer the market leader. According to Smart Analytics Global (SAG), global foldable smartphone shipments declined 2% year-on-year to 3.4 million units in the June quarter, outperforming the overall smartphone market, which fell an estimated 8%. Huawei captured a commanding 48% market share, while Samsung posted one of the strongest performances among major brands, growing shipments 25% year-on-year on the back of healthy demand for the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7. The question is no longer whether Samsung can build the best foldable. It is whether it can finally convince millions of mainstream consumers that foldables deserve to replace conventional smartphones.
The category Samsung built is no longer its alone
Samsung deserves enormous credit for creating today's foldable smartphone market. When it launched the original Galaxy Fold in 2019, foldables were experimental, expensive and fragile. Early devices suffered from display failures and awkward form factors, but Samsung persisted, refining hinges, improving water resistance, reducing weight and gradually bringing prices down. Ironically, those same improvements have also made it easier for rivals to catch up.
Huawei now leads the global market largely because China has become the world's biggest foldable market. Consumers there have embraced book-style foldables far more enthusiastically than buyers in North America and Europe, helped by intense competition, faster product cycles and increasingly polished hardware. Honor, for instance, recorded the fastest shipment growth among major vendors in the June quarter, with shipments jumping 82% year-on-year after expanding availability of its Magic V6 lineup across China and overseas markets. Motorola retained the No. 3 position despite weaker shipments, reflecting a slower product cycle.
Analysts see Samsung returning to top position globally after Galaxy Z Fold 8 series launch
Samsung's response this year appears to be less about adding features and more about fixing long-standing compromises. The company is widely expected to introduce a wider Fold design that resembles a conventional smartphone when closed — one of the most frequent requests from users who found earlier Fold models too narrow. Reports also point to thinner designs, improved cameras and a new Ultra variant targeted at premium buyers willing to pay for the best hardware.
That matters because hardware alone has rarely been the biggest obstacle for foldables. Consumers have consistently questioned whether foldables justify their significantly higher prices, whether app optimisation is good enough and whether they are durable enough for everyday use. Samsung appears to be addressing all three simultaneously.
Industry analysts believe these changes could help Samsung reclaim the global leadership position in the September quarter as new devices reach stores, even if Huawei remains dominant in China. But reclaiming quarterly leadership is only one battle. The bigger one begins next year.
The Apple question hangs over every foldable launch
Every discussion around foldables now inevitably leads to Apple. Industry expectations are increasingly converging around Apple's first foldable iPhone arriving within the next product cycle. While Apple has entered the segment years later than rivals, that delay could ultimately benefit the category rather than hurt it.
SAG expects Apple to become the global foldable smartphone leader from 2027 as millions of iPhone users enter the segment, accelerating worldwide adoption. History offers some support for that view.
Apple was late to larger smartphones, OLED displays, 5G and smartwatches, yet each category expanded rapidly once the company entered. Apple's strength lies less in inventing hardware categories than in making them accessible to mainstream consumers. That creates an unusual dynamic for Samsung. In the short term, Apple represents the biggest competitive threat Samsung has faced in foldables. In the longer term, Apple could also become Samsung's biggest ally.
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