Samsung pins high hopes on new Galaxy Z foldables

Foldable phones will likely account for one-third of Samsung Electronics Co.'s domestic sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphone series this year, led by the Z Flip 5 and Fold 5, its mobile division chief said on Friday, after unveiling the latest foldable lines this week.

With the launch of the fifth-generation Z Flip and Fold lines, TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s Mobile eXperience (MX) division, noted the company puts its priority on expanding the slice of foldables of the smartphone market.

Samsung is a trailblazer in the foldable smartphone market. But foldables remain a niche market, making up only 1% of the global shipments of smartphones this year, according to Canalys, a research house. 

“This year, global sales of (Samsung) foldables will represent more than 20% (of the sales) of our entire flagship Galaxy series,” Roh said during a press conference at its headquarters in southern Seoul.

“Since the launch of the Galaxy foldable smartphones in 2019, their cumulative sales passed the 30 million mark. (This year), foldable phones will be at an important tipping point to go mainstream.”

In 2023, both domestic and global sales volume of Galaxy foldables will exceed those of the Galaxy Note series smartphones of the previous years on an annual basis, he told reporters. The Galaxy Note series has sold about 10 million units annually.

Last year, Samsung got closer to its sales target of 10 million units for the fourth-generation Galaxy Z Flip and Fold combined.

Roh expressed confidence about the Z Flip 5 and Fold 5, which the electrical engineering Ph. D said achieved the greatest innovation among the Galaxy foldable lines in both software and hardware, with uncompromised flexibility and various enhanced functions.

According to Counterpoint, a research company, the global shipment of foldable phones is expected to surpass 100 million units a year by 2027.

Alongside the Z Flip 5 and Fold 5, Samsung released its new Galaxy Tab S9 series and the sixth-generation Galaxy Watch lines on Wednesday.

The latest tablet models come with advanced entertainment features and enhanced productivity.

The newest edition to the Galaxy Watch line offers more sophisticated health checkup services than its predecessors, with a refined circular body, Roh said.

(Updated with details)

Write to Ye-Rin Choi at rambutan@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.