Samsung is doubling down on foldable phones in 2022 — and it might just work

Samsung is doubling downwardly on foldable phones in 2021 — and it might just work

(Epitome credit: Future)

Samsung thinks yous're fix for more foldable phones in the coming year. But are foldable phones finally ready for you lot?

We're about to find out. Closing out 2020, Samsung Electronics president TM Roh posted an overview of the electronics behemothic's plans for mobile in 2021, and one of the highlights appears to be that the Milky way Z Fold 2 and Milky way Z Flip 5G can wait some company very soon.

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"True to our heritage of staying ahead of the curve with trailblazing mobile tech, we'll be expanding our portfolio of foldables, so this groundbreaking category is more accessible to everyone," Roh wrote.

That's quite a change, given the rough showtime Samsung faced on the foldable front. The initial Galaxy Fold, first previewed in 2019, ran into some pattern flaws, forcing Samsung to filibuster the launch. When it did debut, the original Fold showed promise, though not nearly enough to justify its $1,980 asking cost.

Samsung's foldable phones are notwithstanding pretty pricey, but otherwise things have improved dramatically in the past twelvemonth. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 addressed many of the original Fold's problems, introducing a more durable blueprint. The Galaxy Z Flip gave Samsung a foldable flip phone that was much more polished than the rival Motorola Razr. And both the Fold and the Flip supported a new Flex mode which took advantage of foldable designs to permit yous use apps in new ways.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 unfolding — (Epitome credit: Samsung)

"Samsung recognizes that its early on bet on foldables can fully pay off if Samsung expands into affordable price segments while it has minimal competition," said Avi Greengart, founder and atomic number 82 analyst of Techsponential, in a post on Samsung's 2021 phone plans.

There's another reason Samsung may want to strike while the iron's hot, said Ramon Llamas, IDC's research manager for devices and displays. "Samsung seems to accept constitute more success than its competitors like Motorola in the US or Royole in Asia," he said. "Unless other vendors gain traction with their ain foldable smartphones, this could be a product category that Samsung can lock up for itself."

Just how will Samsung do that, though? The reply appears to swivel upon edifice on some of its early successes with this yr'southward batch of foldable phones. Here's a few reasons why Samsung is bullish on the prospects for time to come foldable devices every bit a new year looms.

Foldable telephone screens have gotten more durable

The offset foldable phones featured plastic displays — a necessary compromise since drinking glass isn't actually that proficient at bending, but 1 that left devices feeling flimsy and cheap. That'southward not what yous want to convey when yous're request people to pay upward to $two,000 for a phone.

Starting with the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung inserted a layer of ultra-thin glass in its foldable lineup. (The Galaxy Z Fold 2 features that same layer, too.) The deviation was dark and twenty-four hour period. Now the devices had the kind of smoothen you'd expect from a pricey phone while yet managing to withstand the kind of regular wear and tear that comes from folding and unfolding the screen.

Samsung figured out how to optimize the foldable form factor

A telephone that just folds shut is piffling more than than a party trick. To be a more compelling option, a foldable telephone needs to accept advantage of its unique power to expand and contract — and that'due south precisely what Samsung managed to exercise this year.

We've mentioned the Flex mode, which takes reward of the hinge on both the Galaxy Z Fold two and Galaxy Z Flip to keep part of the screen at a 90-degree angle. That allows sure apps to employ the top function of the brandish as a viewing area, and the bottom for controls — remember YouTube videos playing on i half of the device, while y'all can control playback and comment on the video on the other office of the screen.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review flex model Google Duo — (Prototype credit: Future)

The Fold, in item, continues to exist a multitasker'southward dream, with the ability to run three apps at once on its 7.6-inch master display. You tin even link those apps together then that they launch at the same time. And app continuity allows you to access an app on the Fold'due south at present-larger cover display and pick up where yous left off when you open the telephone to use the larger screen.

If anything, Samsung needs to do more than of this to popularize foldable phones, including working with app makers to ensure that their software is optimized for foldable screens. "Do all the apps [potential foldable phone owners] want to use run perfectly on a foldable device?" Llamas asked. "If not, so purchasing a device like this becomes a not-starter."

Foldable telephone prices are well-nigh to come downwardly

In promising to expand Samsung's foldable lineup, Roh promised more "attainable" devices. Take that to mean they'll be more than affordable because, frankly, that's the only direction Samsung can go.

For all its improvements, the Milky way Z Fold 2 still costs $1,999 — out of the budgets for most smartphone shoppers. The Galaxy Z Flip is cheaper, just only relatively so, with the 5G version available for $1,449. Samsung'southward prices aren't out of line with other foldable devices, either — the Motorola Razr 5G costs $i,399. The LG Wing is cheaper at $999, but that's not a true foldable phone — rather, information technology's got a second screen tucked nether the first that swivels out when you demand it.

Even at $1500, [foldable phones] are withal more expensive than most other flagship devices.

— Ramon Llamas, IDC

"Even at $1500, [foldable phones] are nevertheless more expensive than virtually other flagship devices including Apple tree's iPhone 12 Pro Max or even Samsung's most popular Milky way S devices," Llamas said.

Joining the likes of the LG Wing below the $ane,000 marking would exist the target if Samsung is serious most its quest for more accessible foldables. "To grow its market share — and steal some iOS users along the way — Samsung needs to bring refined, bonny foldables below the $i,000 price point where most phone sales live," Techsponential's Greengart wrote.

Foldable phone outlook

Even with more than foldable phones coming in 2021, don't expect the iPhone thirteen or Galaxy S21 to be brushed aside past the latest Galaxy Z Fold — or whatever other design Samsung has in the pipeline. For all the progress that foldables accept fabricated in a brusque fourth dimension, they're nevertheless a niche production, even if the price does drop a lilliputian bit.

"The bigger viewing area is certainly a draw, so is having multiple apps open on the same screen," IDC's Llamas said. "But when you get downwards to it, most users would probably prefer to salvage the money and still relish a quality feel on a slab-style smartphone. Wait foldables to go to the technophiles and early adopters."

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom'due south Guide. He has strong opinions nearly Apple, the Oakland Athletics and one-time movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.