Samsung may move away from more affordable phones due to inflation, analysts warn
Samsung is expected to launch its latest set of flagship foldable smartphones this year, theGalaxy Z Fold4and theGalaxy Z Flip4. Theflagship phonesare expected to land on August 10, although there is no official confirmation yet. Industry insiders have now suggested that the company is planning toreduce sales for its Galaxy A and Galaxy S seriesto focus on its upcoming foldable phones instead (viaAndroid Headlines).
Samsung will soon train its sights on maximizing sales for the Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 to compete for a greater share of the smartphone market against the likes of Apple. Tech analysts have explained that since inflation tends to have a greater impact on lower-priced phones than their costlier counterparts, increased sales of premium-priced phones like foldables may aid the company in recovering its losses.
Samsung has anestimated 50 million unsold smartphonesin the hands of distributors, a majority of which are from its A-series line. This globaldecline in sales is due to a combination of factorsincluding repetitive COVID waves, the Russia-Ukraine crisis, and the strengthening US dollar. Samsung is expected to double its foldable smartphone sales targets of 2021 to recover its losses and maintain its status quo in the smartphone market.
Between January 2021 and March 2022, Apple had anaverage smartphone market share of 52.2%in the United States, compared to Samsung’s 26.6%. The only time Samsung’s sales came within touching distance of Apple’s dominance was in the third fiscal quarter of 2021 when the former coincidentally launched its Galaxy Z Fold3 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 foldable pieces.
Samsung’s rumored decision seems to be a step in the right direction since the Z Flip3 and Z Fold3 were the top two foldables in 2021 when it comes to shipment numbers. TheZ Flip3 accounted for 52%of the foldable phone market last year. Given that Samsung’s closest rival in the foldable smartphone space, Huawei, has faced multiple sanctions globally, and its American competitors such as Apple and OnePlus areyet to launch their foldablesinternationally, the company will continue to dominate this sector for a while.
It is expected that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 will be powered by the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, whereas the Z Flip4 may carry a greater battery capacity compared to its predecessor’s low 3,300mAh. One of the drawbacks of the Z Fold3 was its high price of $1,799, and we hope that it is slashed to make it affordable to more customers.
The foldable duo will be up against premium devices such as theGoogle Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, theXiaomi 12S Ultra, the iPhone 14, and potentially also the long-rumoredGoogle Pixel Fold.
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