While Samsung may have “absolutely welcomed” Apple to the folding smartphone market, it is clear that the iPhone Duo has the South Korean electronics firm worried.
Hee-Cheul Moon, one of Samsung’s R&D leads, told Wired:
“Seeing these other brands entering the market, we feel very proud of ourselves that the value that we pioneered with this new category of foldables is being acknowledged and recognized.”
Samsung currently holds a 38% share of the folding smartphone market. However, market intelligence company Counterpoint recently predicted that Apple’s iPhone Duo will have 40% of the market by September of 2027.
While the folding smartphone market only accounts for 2% of the overall smartphone market, the research firm expects to see 24% growth for the segment this year, with 37% growth next year.
In addition to Apple and Samsung’s new foldables, the report says we’ll see new foldable models from Google, Honor, Vivo, Huawei, Motorola, Oppo, and Xiaomi. Out of all of the new device’s, the report says the Duo will be the one to watch.
Now 9to5Google reports that Samsung is pushing forward the launch of its Galaxy Z Trifold 2, even though the original Galaxy Z Trifold proved to be less than successful. The original Trifold hit shelves in January with a price of $2,899, and was discontinued a short three months later, after sales failed to set the world on fire, even when sold at a loss. Samsung still has product page for the Galaxy Z Trifold and it puts a different spin on things, as it claims the device is “sold out,” and that the device had a “limited run.”
The publication says a post by Chinese leaker Lanzuk suggests Samsung is moving up the debut of the Galaxy Z Trifold 2 as a direct response to Apple’s iPhone Duo. It will likely debut sometime in 2027.
The leaker says that the TriFold 2 will be “thinner, lighter, and more durable” than the original Trifold, and that the price of the new device is expected to be “nearly identical” to that of the first generation Trifold.
Samsung’s foldable phones haven’t exactly been known for their reliableness. So it’s no surprise that the company feels threatened by Apple’s entry into the foldable smartphone market.
The first-generation foldable devices allow dust to get trapped within the fold when the phone is closed, causing display damage, which then required replacing the entire module.
Apple’s iPhone Duo is much more resistant to such issue, as with its rating of IP68, it is dustproof. Samsung’s foldable was rated at IP48, meaning even grains of sand could get in to cause havoc.
