Samsung to unveil new foldables in July to boost Q3 profit

Samsung Electronics Co. is set to unveil fifth-generation of its foldable smartphones at the end of July, about two weeks earlier than it had showcased former versions in past years, according to industry sources on Friday.

The earlier-than-expected unveiling is aimed at maximizing sales before Apple Inc. rolls out iPhone 15 in September, as well as boosting the third-quarter performance of the South Korean tech giant, which is expected to log operating loss for the second quarter.  

Samsung’s mobile experience (MX) division has tentatively set the unveiling of Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5 for the fourth week of July; the company held the event for Z4 series on August 10 of 2022 and for Z3 on August 11 of 2021. Given about a month from the unveiling event Galaxy Unpacked to its official release, the new version is forecast to be launched in mid-August. 

Samsung, the world’s largest and smartphone maker by volume, is considering holding Galaxy Unpacked for Z5 series in Seoul or Busan, while it primarily held past events in New York and San Francisco.

COMPETITION WITH IPHONE, FOLDABLES

The tech giant has moved the launch of the Z5 series forward to maximize its third-quarter revenue, according to sources. Samsung, which decided to curtail chip production last month after its semiconductor business was heavily hit by the market downturn, is forecast to post an operating loss for the second quarter.

The earlier launch is also aimed at attracting more consumers seeking new smartphones, before Apple releases iPhone 15 in September.

“Given that the production estimates for the Z Flip5 for July 2023 are about double that of the Z Flip4 in 2022, it is very likely that they are launching earlier this year which would be a good move to create distance with the iPhone 15 launch,” said Ross Young, chief executive at market research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), on his Twitter on April 27.

Samsung accounted for 76.9% of the world’s foldable smartphone market in 2022, according to data from Strategy Analytics Inc. But it is seeing competition grow with global peers – Huawei Technologies Co., Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp., Vivo Communication Technology Co. and Xiaomi Corp. Google LLC is also set to launch its first foldable smartphone this year.

The Korean tech giant will continue to lead the market by innovating the foldables' hardware, such as expanding the external display for better design and convenience. Industry watchers forecast Galaxy Z Flip5 external display’s diagonal will be in the length of 8.6 centimeters, 1.8 times that of the predecessor Z Flip4.

It will also improve the folding part of the devices. Samsung will apply a waterdrop hinge instead of the previous U-shaped one to minimize wrinkles in the folds and reduce the space created when folded, which is expected to make the smartphones more waterproof and slimmer.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.