Samsung Electronics Co. President Roh Tae-moon presents the latest Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 at Galaxy Unpacked at Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France, on July 10, 2024, in this photo provided by the company. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL/PARIS, Jul. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The head of Samsung Electronics Co.’s mobile division has said the company aims to boost sales of its new foldable smartphones by more than 10 percent, highlighting the addition of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
The world’s largest smartphone maker unveiled its latest generation foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, along with the highly anticipated ring-type wearable, the Galaxy Ring, at Galaxy Unpacked held at Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France, on Wednesday (French time).
The new foldable models, incorporating advanced on-device AI functions, such as “Live Translation,” are the thinnest and lightest in the Z series to date.
Samsung Electronics Co.’s new Galaxy Z Fold 6 (L) and Galaxy Z Flip 6 (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“It is difficult to estimate the exact sales figures,” Roh Tae-moon, president of Samsung Electronics Co., told Korean reporters after the Unpacked event in Paris. “We aim to sell 10 percent more of new products compared with the previous model released last year.”
He emphasized user-friendly features of the new Galaxy Z series smartphones, which are powered by Qualcomm’s latest chipset, optimizing AI processing and enhancing general functions, including graphics performance.
“This time, we’ve introduced products that are more complete and immaculate in every aspect, such as the camera and battery,” he said. “We expect better results in the global market.”
Samsung Electronics first introduced foldable smartphones in 2019, and since then, many tech giants, including Google and Motorola, have entered this high-end segment.
Chinese tech firm Huawei has also rapidly grown to become a major player in the market.
According to a report by market research firm Counterpoint, the global foldable smartphone market grew 49 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2024.
Huawei’s market share more than doubled on-year to 35 percent in the first quarter, while Samsung Electronics plunged to 23 percent from 58 percent over the one-year period.
“As the market expands and competition intensifies, it is positive for consumers as they benefit from a more competitive market,” Roh said.
Additionally, Roh mentioned that Samsung plans to add on-device Galaxy AI to about 200 million Galaxy devices by the end of the year, offering the service free of charge until 2025.
Samsung Electronics’ new Galaxy Ring, featuring the company’s most advanced sensor technology, focuses on health care functions, such as measuring and managing sleep quality and heart rate.
Despite increasing anticipation for a blood sugar monitoring feature on the new ring-shaped device, the Galaxy Ring and the Watch 7 did not include the technology to measure blood glucose levels without finger-pricking.
In 2020, Samsung Electronics published research in collaboration with MIT on a “Raman spectroscopy system,” a technique that can detect glucose on the skin using a laser-based sensor.
“We are aware of the increasing interest from consumers with such disorders and the market, but there were difficulties in winning approval from local health authorities,” Roh said. “When measuring blood sugar, we need to provide very accurate figures as medical data and comply with various regulations.”
He explained that more time is needed to adopt non-invasive blood sugar monitoring in wearable devices, citing current issues with accuracy and completeness.
Roh also remained cautious about predicting sales figures for the Galaxy Ring.
Samsung Electronics Co.’s new Galaxy Ring (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“The ring-type wearable device is a new business category that has just started. It is too early to predict its sales,” he said.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics said preorders for the new foldables and wearables will start Friday and run for a week.
The official launch date is set for July 24 in South Korea, with prices starting at 2.22 million won (US$1,600) for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and 1.48 million won for the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
The Galaxy Ring will be priced at 499,400 won, available in nine different sizes.
(Yonhap)
