Samsung’s Answer to the iPhone Duo Might Be a Rebaked Flop
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Samsung may have welcomed Apple to the folding smartphone market, but you can bet the iPhone Duo has caused some worries in the executive suites at the Korean electronics giant.
Hee-Cheul Moon, one of Samsung’s R&D leads, told Wired:
On the eve of Apple’s highly anticipated folding iPhone, Samsung […] says the competition is “absolutely welcome” […]
“Seeing these other brands entering the market, we feel very proud of ourselves that the value that we pioneered with this new category of foldables is being acknowledged and recognized,” Moon says.
While Samsung is currently the top dog in the folding smartphone market with a 38% share of the market, leading market intelligence company Counterpoint recently predicted that Apple will own 40% of the market by this time next year.
Foldables may grab headlines, but research shows they currently account for only 2% of the overall market. However, Counterpoint expects to see significant growth in that segment of the smartphone market over the next 12 months, with 24% growth expected this year and 37% growth next year.
While it sounds like there will be plenty of room in the foldable smartphone market for everyone — the report says we’ll see new foldables introduced by not only Samsung and Apple, but also Google, Honor, Vivo, Huawei, Motorola, Oppo, and Xiaomi — Apple will be the one to watch.
This apparently has Samsung worried, as 9to5Google reports that there are hints the Korean firm is moving forward with the launch of its Galaxy Z Trifold 2 — even though its predecessor was a flop!
Samsung’s foldable phones haven’t exactly been known for their reliability. So it’s no surprise that the company feels threatened by Apple’s entry into the foldable smartphone market.
As noted by Mactrast, the first-generation Galaxy Fold devices had a tendency to get dust trapped within the fold when the phone was closed. This caused display damage, requiring a visit to the repair shop to replace the entire module.
Following the iPhone Duo’s unveiling, it was clear that Apple had figured out how to make it much more resistant to dust and dirt. With a rating of IP68, the iPhone Duo is considered dust-proof, while Samsung’s latest Galaxy Z Fold 8 is rated only to IP48, meaning even grains of sand could foul up the works.
A post by Chinese leaker “Lanzuk” (aka yeux1122) indicates Samsung is planning to move up the launch of the Galaxy Z Trifold 2 in direct response to the iPhone Duo. While an exact timeline wasn’t revealed, it will likely debut sometime in 2027.
The leaker claims that the second-generation TriFold will be “thinner, lighter, and more durable” than the original Trifold, and that Samsung is aiming to have the price of the new device be “nearly identical” to that of the original. The original Trifold sold for $2,900, although there were several reports at the time that the device was being sold at a loss to move inventory.
The original Trifold debuted in January, but was discontinued a mere three months later, due to poor sales, even with a massive discount.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
