A customer visits a shop in the headquarters of Samsung Electronics Co. in Seoul on Feb. 17, 2023, to purchase the tech giant’s latest Galaxy S23 smartphone that was released globally the same day. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Samsung Electronics Co.’s latest smartphone release, the Galaxy S23, is gaining sensational popularity, while interest in foldable phones seems to be fading.
Consumers are placing more value on the high performance of the new product than the utility obtained through foldable phones.
Despite the advantage of having a large screen, the Galaxy S23′s specifications outshine those of foldable phones, causing consumers to shift to the Galaxy S23 Ultra model.
Samsung attempted to revive interest in foldable phones by reducing prices, but it seems unlikely that consumers will change their minds given the current market atmosphere.
The large-screen Galaxy Z Fold 4 is expected to be hit harder than the Galaxy Z Flip 4, which is popular with women, with the sales price of unlocked handsets falling by 500,000 won (US$385) within five months of its launch.
The price of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 has also decreased significantly.
On its official release date, the Galaxy S23 series recorded a record high of 1.09 million units in advance bookings.
Customers in their 30s and 40s with high purchasing power are particularly fond of this product, accounting for 55 percent of all pre-bookers, according to an SK Telecom Co. official.
It seems that Samsung’s plan to dominate the foldable phone market will be disrupted to some extent as a result.
This photo, provided by Samsung Electronics Co., shows a Samsung shop in Seoul. The tech giant said on Feb. 6, 2023, that it will start preorders for the Galaxy S23 smartphone the following day.
With the launch of the Galaxy Fold in 2019, Samsung opened the door to a new market for foldable phones, and since then, global manufacturers have been racing to release related products.
According to market research firm TrendForce, Samsung’s global foldable phone market share is currently around 8 percent.
However, in the Chinese market, Huawei, Vivo, and Xiaomi are introducing new products, eroding Samsung’s market share.
Statistics from market researcher International Data Corporation (IDC) show that shipments of foldable phones in China last year increased by 118 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, reaching 3.3 million units.
However, Samsung has been struggling with a market share of around 1 percent in China.
As the popularity of the Galaxy S23 continues to grow, the Korean foldable phone market is expected to weaken. The impact of this trend on Samsung’s Chinese smartphone market strategy is drawing keen attention.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
