On July 10, Samsung Electronics unveiled its new generation of foldable smartphones. Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6 series, along with new products such as the Galaxy Watch Ultra, Galaxy Watch7, and the true wireless Bluetooth earphones Galaxy Buds3 Pro and Galaxy Buds3. Following the announcement, Samsung partnered with telecom and distribution partners to outline pre-sale and sales plans for these products on July 11.
Jacob Chen, President of Samsung Taiwan's Mobile Communications Division, stated that with hardware upgrades and the support of Generative AI (GenAI), the overall sales of the new foldable smartphones in 2024 are expected to grow by more than 20% compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5 series in 2023.
The prices of the new foldable smartphones are nearly NT$3,000 (US$92.26) higher than last year's models. Chen explained this increase is mainly due to hardware upgrades and exchange rates. However, Samsung plans to launch promotional programs and enhance consumer experiences with GenAI to stimulate sales.
Market Performance and Consumer Insights
Chen noted that foldable smartphones currently account for nearly 20% of Samsung's smartphone sales priced above US$600 in Taiwan, slightly lower than the global average of 25%. This discrepancy is due to previous concerns about camera specifications, battery capacity, and the durability of foldable smartphones.
However, these issues have been resolved over the six years that foldable smartphones have been on the market. Foldable designs are more suitable for GenAI applications, and their continuous weight reduction contributes to Samsung's confidence in increasing sales this year.
Chen believes foldable smartphones are the best mobile carriers for showcasing GenAI applications. In addition to being better suited for AI-based features such as interpretation compared to conventional smartphones, the large screens of foldable smartphones enhance the AI "Circle to Search" feature by allowing users to view more comprehensive information.
Regarding the differences between Samsung's AI smartphones and competitors, Chen highlighted that Samsung currently excels in AI computing power, the comprehensiveness and globalization of its big data database, and cybersecurity, which will be Samsung's biggest advantage in promoting AI smartphones.
With the launch of new products such as the Galaxy Fold 6 and Flip 6, Chen mentioned that although smartphone shipments in the first half of 2024 are expected to be on par with the same period last year, sales revenue is expected to grow by 4%.
With the new products and the traditional peak consumption season of the second half of the year, smartphone shipments in 2024 are expected to increase by 5%. Samsung hopes to outperform the market average by leveraging the S series and foldable smartphones.
