'Special from the name' Samsung Electronics aims to take the top spot in foldables with 'Galaxy Z Fold SE'

[Korea Financial Times, Kim JaeHun] Foldable pioneer Samsung Electronics is facing stiff challenges from Chinese companies. Riding on domestic demand, Chinese companies are gradually gaining market share by introducing new form factor foldables. In response, Samsung Electronics plans to introduce its flagship foldable, 'the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition (SE)', to prove the gap in durability etc.

According to industry reports on the 16th, Samsung Electronics will launch a new premium foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Z Fold SE, this month. It will be launched in South Korea and China, and will reportedly cost around 3 million won, which is more expensive than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which was released in the second half of this year.

The biggest feature of the Galaxy Z Fold SE is that it is a slim foldable that is as thin as 1 centimeter (10 millimeters). According to foreign reports and industry sources, the Galaxy Z Fold SE is expected to have a thickness of 10.6 mm when folded and 4.9 mm when unfolded, making it 1.5 mm and 0.7 mm thinner, respectively, compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6. This is the thinnest in Samsung's Galaxy smartphone lineup.

Despite the thinner thickness, the screen is expected to be larger. The external display of the Galaxy Z Fold SE is expected to be 6.5 inches, 0.2 inches larger than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, and the internal display is expected to be 8.0 inches, 0.4 inches larger. Along with the larger screen, it will also feature Galaxy AI.

As the name suggests, the Galaxy Z Fold SE is not part of Samsung’s official smartphone lineup. The reason behind Samsung’s release of the Galaxy Z Fold SE is seen as a move to demonstrate its technological superiority over Chinese companies like Huawei, which are rapidly catching up, especially in the China domestic market.

Samsung Electronics launched the world's first foldable phone in 2022, revolutionizing the smartphone form factor. According to market research firm TrendForce, Samsung's foldable phone market share in 2022 was overwhelming with 80 percent. However, Chinese companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo have gradually increased their share by capitalizing on their relatively low prices and strong domestic markets. Last year, Samsung Electronics' share of foldable phones decreased to 66.4%, and its estimated share in the first half of this year is 50.4%. After Samsung, Huawei was second with 30.8 percent.

Chinese companies in particular have been playing catch-up lately, introducing products as thin as 1 centimeter and new form factors before Samsung. Last month, Huawei launched the Mate XT, the world's first foldable phone with a screen that can be folded twice. It attracted 6.8 million pre-orders.

In addition, China's Honor introduced its new premium foldable phone, the 'Magic V3', at the IFA in Germany last month, and Xiaomi launched its new foldable phone, the 'Mixfold 4', in July. Both products are 9.2 and 9.47 millimeters thick when folded, respectively, which is thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold SE.

While Chinese companies have shown hardware advancements earlier than Samsung, durability is still an issue. For example, Huawei's 'Mate XT' had a number of durability issues after launch, including a broken display, which caused its price to plummet within a month. Honor's 'Magic V3', which was heavily marketed before launch, also faced questions about its durability and functionality at IFA.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series has a clear advantage over its Chinese counterparts in terms of durability. In particular, the Galaxy Z Fold SE is said to be equipped with Samsung's new Ultra Foldable Glass (UFG) technology, which significantly improves the problem of screen wrinkles, a common problem with foldables. In addition, like other Galaxy smartphone series, it is expected to be more advanced than its Chinese counterparts in terms of premium elements such as Galaxy AI features.

A Samsung Electronics representative said, “We can't comment on the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold SE yet,” but added, “We are doing our best to research technologies for the No. 1 foldable smartphone market.”

Kim JaeHun (rlqm93@fntimes.com)