Samsung’s new foldables: Game changer in smartphones

Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday announced new additions to its high-end line of Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip phones, in hopes that the new 5G-enabled foldables will be game changers in the premium smartphone segment.

During its Galaxy Unpacked 2021 event, the South Korean tech giant unveiled two new folding phones, the Z Fold3 and Z Flip3; two new smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch4 Classic; and a set of new wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds2.



Samsung said the new products equipped with enhanced features and better durability will help the company strengthen its overall mobile phone market leadership and put it on an equal footing with high-end smartphone leader Apple Inc.

“Samsung is once again redefining the possibilities with foldable smartphones that empower users with the flexibility and versatility needed for today’s fast-paced world,” said TM Roh, president and head of Samsung’s mobile communications business.

“As a pioneer and industry leader in the foldable category, we’re proud to build on our legacy of innovation with the Z Fold3 and Z Flip3.”

INDUSTRY’S FIRSTS

Samsung said its latest two smartphones are equipped with several new features, touted as industry firsts, for foldables.

The Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 will be the first foldables with IPX8-rating water resistance, meaning they can withstand water depths of more than 1 meter for over 30 minutes.

Both devices are also built with Armor Aluminum, which Samsung says is the strongest aluminum ever used on a Galaxy smartphone, along with the toughest Corning Gorilla Glass Victus to protect against scratches and accidental drops.

The two foldable phones went through a strenuous folding test, to withstand folding 200,000 times, it said.

FIRST STYLUS FOR FOLDABLES

With a larger 7.6-inch internal display, the Z Fold3 will have an S Pen stylus, the first for a foldable. The stylus has so far been available only on its Note smartphone series.

The internal display will also be Samsung’s first to feature an under-display camera (UDC) that hides the typical punch hole camera.

“With the technology, the Z Fold3 features an increased viewable area so users get an unbroken canvas,” Samsung said.

The redesigned cover screen of the Z Flip3 is four times larger than the previous version, making it easier to view notifications and messages without having to open the flip phone, it said.

The foldables will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor.

Samsung’s launch of new foldable phones comes as the company faces growing competition with Chinese smartphone makers.

GROWING COMPETITION

According to industry tracker Counterpoint Research, Samsung led the global smartphone market with a 17.9% share in the second quarter, closely followed by China's Xiaomi Inc. at 16.2%.

In June of this year, the Chinese phone maker overtook Samsung for the first time on a monthly basis.

Analysts said Samsung hopes to make the Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, both packed with new features, game changers in the smartphone segment.

According to Strategy Analytics, the global foldable phone shipments will reach 117 million units by 2025 from 6.5 million units this year.

To better compete with Chinese smartphone makers, Samsung has also slashed the retail prices of the latest phones.

Samsung said it is offering the Galaxy Z Fold3 at $1,799.99 and the Galaxy Z Flip3 for $999.99 – each about $345 lower than their previous models.

The Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3 will be available for pre-order beginning Aug. 11 with an official launch scheduled for Aug. 27 starting with select markets, including the US, Europe and Korea.

GALAXY WATCH4, BUDS2

On Wednesday, Samsung also unveiled two new smartwatches – the Galaxy Watch4 Classic with a hardware rotating bezel and the sportier, bezel-free Galaxy Watch4 model.

After years of running the in-house Tizen OS, the new smartwatches will be operating on Wear OS, jointly developed by Samsung and Google. That means Google apps such as Google Maps will be available on the Watch4 series.

The latest smartwatches will be powered by Samsung’s Exynos W920, a new processor for wearable devices.

The new processor improves CPU performance by around 20% and offers 10 times better graphics performance than its predecessor, according to Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds2 comes in a variety of colors with improved noise reduction capabilities.

The dynamic two-way speakers deliver crisp, clear high notes and deep bass, while Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) helps block out unwanted noise, Samsung said.

The Galaxy Bud2 will retail for $149.99.

Write to Min-Jun Suh and Sung-soo Bae at morandol@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.