Samsung believes you are ready for more folding phones in the next year. But are foldable phones finally ready for you?
We’re about to find out. Closing 2020, the president of Samsung Electronics TM Roh posted an overview of the electronics giant’s plans for mobile phones in 2021, and one of the highlights seems to be that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip 5G can expect some company soon.
“True to our tradition of staying ahead of the curve with pioneering mobile technology, we will expand our folding portfolio so that this innovative category is more accessible to everyone,” Roh wrote.
That’s a big change, given the difficult start that Samsung faced on the folding front. The initial Galaxy Fold, first introduced in 2019, featured some design flaws, forcing Samsung to delay the launch. When it debuted, the original Fold was promising, although not enough to justify its asking price of $ 1,980.
Samsung folding phones are still very expensive, but other than that, things have improved dramatically in the past year. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 solved many of the problems of the original Fold, featuring a more durable design. O Galaxy Z Flip gave Samsung a foldable flip phone that was much more polished than its rival Motorola razr. And both Fold and Flip supported a new Flex mode that took advantage of foldable designs to allow you to use apps in new ways.
“Samsung recognizes that its initial bet on folding can be fully rewarded if Samsung expands into affordable segments while having minimal competition,” said Avi Greengart, Techsponential founder and lead analyst, in a post about Samsung’s 2021 phone plans.
There is another reason why Samsung may want to attack while the iron is hot, said Ramon Llamas, IDC’s director of research for devices and monitors. “Samsung appears to have been more successful than its competitors like Motorola in the United States or Royole in Asia,” he said. “Unless other vendors gain strength with their own foldable smartphones, this could be a product category that Samsung can guarantee for itself.”
But how will Samsung do this? The answer seems to depend on some of his early successes with this year’s batch of foldable phones. Here are some reasons why Samsung is optimistic about the prospects for future folding devices as the new year approaches.
The foldable screens of the phone have become more durable
The first folding phones had plastic screens – a necessary compromise, since the glass is not very good for folding, but it left the devices with a fragile and cheap appearance. That’s not what you want to convey when you’re asking people to pay up to $ 2,000 for a phone.
Starting with the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung has inserted a layer of ultra-thin glass into its foldable line. (The Galaxy Z Fold 2 also features the same layer.) The difference was night and day. Now the devices had the kind of polish you would expect from an expensive phone, while supporting the kind of normal wear and tear that comes with folding and unfolding the screen.
Samsung figured out how to optimize the foldable form factor
A phone that just closes is little more than a party trick. To be a more attractive option, a foldable phone needs to take advantage of its unique ability to expand and contract – and that is precisely what Samsung has managed to do this year.
We mentioned the Flex mode, which takes advantage of the hinge on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip to keep part of the screen at a 90 degree angle. This allows certain apps to use the top of the screen as a viewing area and the bottom for controls – think of YouTube videos playing on one half of the device, while you can control playback and comment on the video on the other part of the screen.
Fold, in particular, remains a multi-tasking dream, with the ability to run three applications at the same time on its main 7.6-inch screen. You can even link these applications so that they start at the same time. And the continuity of the application allows you to access an application on Fold’s now larger coverage screen and pick up where you left off when you opened the phone to use the larger screen.
At a minimum, Samsung needs to do more to popularize foldable phones, including working with application makers to ensure that its software is optimized for folding screens. “Make all applications [potential foldable phone owners] want to use the run perfectly on a folding device? “Llamas asked.” If not, then buying a device like this becomes a failure. “
Folding phone prices are about to fall
In promising to expand Samsung’s foldable line, Roh promised more “affordable” devices. Consider that they will be cheaper because, frankly, this is the only direction Samsung can take.
Despite all its improvements, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 still costs $ 1,999 – out of budget for most smartphone buyers. The Galaxy Z Flip is cheaper, but only relatively, with the 5G version available for $ 1,449. Samsung’s prices are also out of step with other folding devices – the Motorola Razr 5G costs $ 1,399. O LG Wing it comes out cheaper, it costs $ 999, but it is not a real foldable phone – instead, it has a second screen under the first one that can be rotated when you need it.
Even at $ 1500, [foldable phones] they are still more expensive than most other major devices.
– Ramon Llamas, IDC
“Even at $ 1500, [foldable phones] are still more expensive than most other major devices, including Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max or even Samsung’s most popular Galaxy S devices, “said Llamas.
Joining companies like the LG Wing below the $ 1,000 mark would be the target if Samsung takes its pursuit of more affordable foldables seriously. “To increase its market share – and steal some iOS users along the way – Samsung needs to bring refined and attractive folders below the $ 1,000 price point where most phone sales live,” wrote Greengart of Techsponential.
Foldable phone perspective
Even with more folding phones coming in 2021, don’t expect the iPhone 13 or Galaxy S21 to be pushed aside by the latest Galaxy Z Fold – or whatever design Samsung has in mind. Despite all the progress that folders have made in a short time, they are still a niche product, even if the price drops a little.
“The larger viewing area is certainly an attraction, and also having multiple applications open on the same screen,” said IDC’s Llamas. “But when you hit rock bottom, most users would probably prefer to save money and still enjoy a quality experience on a plate-type smartphone. Expect the folders to go to technophiles and first users.”