Foldable phones became a reality in 2019 when Samsung dared to make foldable phones – the Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Flip commercially available in the mainstream market. Samsung’s bold attempt paid off as the company continues to lead the foldable category in India as well as globally.
According to Counterpoint, in the first quarter of 2022 a sell-in volume of 1.54 million units. In addition, an increase of 111% as compared to last year. Another report by the same research organization suggested that the market will grow by 60% in shipment in 2022.
The Display Supply Chain Consultants report said that Samsung has already shipped 87.8 per cent foldable devices in the year 2021. All other brands are lagging behind with minimal shares in the same market.
Samsung to maintain its pole position in foldable Galaxy Fold 4 and Galaxy Flip 4
According to Future Insight data, the global foldable phone market size is projected to surpass US$ 6.8 Bn in 2021. Between 2021 and 2031, the market is expected to exhibit CAGR of 25.2%. Samsung knows foldable is the future as it continues to iron out issues and improve the reliability of its foldable phones.
While in the beginning, the Fold and Flip models were costly enough to make you think twice before even buying them. After that, the successors of the same smartphones were not that costly and Samsung also removed the issues that were faced in the first couple of models.
As of now, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Flip 4 are all set to make their global debut tomorrow. Samsung is rumoured to ramp up foldable production to bring down the production cost.
Considering the pattern that Samsung has followed, we are expecting that the Samsung Galaxy Flip 4 will be priced somewhere around Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000 as Samsung wants to make foldable phones affordable.
Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4: What to expect?
Earlier this year, we exclusively shared Galaxy Fold 4 first look. Since then several leaks have surfaced online. We may see some changes in terms of functionality, design, and performance. Samsung is likely to equip both these phones with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU and up to 12GB of RAM.
The smartphones are rumoured to feature a new, more durable hinge mechanism, even though design modifications may not be significant. In addition, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will have a flat side design, a cover display that is somewhat larger, and a somewhat larger battery. According to rumours, the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s rear camera will have a casing specific to the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Both phones will undoubtedly receive additional colour options.
Is the competition against Samsung serious enough to worry about?
Now, Samsung is not the only company that is producing foldable smartphones right now. While Moto Razr got a global launch and got mixed responses from the customers, but still the device was not able to outclass what Samsung offered. Furthermore, brands like Oppo and Vivo have also made their debut in the segment.
Though they don’t have a decent market share until now. Speculations are that as soon as the market will grow, these other competitors will also have a noticeable share. However, it is difficult to say that any of these brands will be able to snatch the crown from Samsung anytime soon.
Rumours have it that in future, Apple and OnePlus will also make their move in the foldable smartphones market. After that, it will be interesting to see how these three smartphone giants fight for maintaining their dominance in the segment.
