Samsung aims to sell 20 million foldables in 2024

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 in Flex Mode with YouTube controls

What you need to know

  • A report by Korean outlet The Elec reveals that Samsung has set an ambitious goal of selling 20 million foldable smartphones in 2024.
  • This would double this year's expected shipment of 10 million foldables.
  • Amid competition, it’s rumored that Samsung is aiming to give the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 a thinner display.

Samsung is aiming high in sales goals for its foldable smartphones. According to a report by the Korean media outlet The Elec, the tech giant has set an ambitious goal of selling 20 million foldable smartphones in 2024.

As per the report, which was shared by GMSArena.com, these numbers would include the sales of the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6, as well as Samsung’s current generation of foldable phones, the Z Fold 5 and Flip 5. 

It’s a rather lofty goal, especially given the competition that Samsung has in the foldable hardware space. The Motorola Razr and Razr Plus offer their own take on flup phones, and Google came up with the Pixel Fold, all of which compete with the Galaxy Z Fold 5 in terms of flagship level, pricing, camera functionality and outer display. 

Emerging brands overseas such as Xiaomi, Huawei and Honor also have their own iterations of foldable smartphones that are pushing the envelope. Earlier this year, for instance, Honor launched the Magic V2, purported to be the company’s thinnest and lightest book-style device that shaves about 4mm compared to Samsung’s offering.

To stay ahead of its competitors, it’s rumored that Samsung is aiming to give the Galaxy Z Fold 6 a thinner display. The Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes out to 13.4 mm when folded, which is 2 mm thinner than its predecessor. But in terms of the next iteration, no further details on that are known yet as to how much thinner it will be.

It’s also not known yet whether this will be enough to enable Samsung to meet next year’s target in terms of foldable phone sales. But, it looks like this year’s updates weren’t enough to drive sales as the company expects to ship only 10 million foldables, falling short of its goal for 2023. This means that the tech giant will need to effectively double this year's sales to meet next year's projection.

Contributor
  • me just saying
    lower the price about half and I might get one ;-)
    Reply
  • parksanim
    They need to tackle the problems with Service and sustainability of the fold phones past 2 years. The factory plastic screen cover is a pain to service (often a problem for some at around 8 months). It still remains to be seen if the Fold 5 will suffer any ribbon cable issues, as did earlier Fold devices. The Flip phones also need factory screen cover replacement, after a year or so. Samsung helps out new owners, but you really need SamsungCare with these phones, as the screen and cover are so fragile. These phones are more about service dollar, SamsungCare generation, and increasing requirements for new purchases every 1 to 2 years, as a revenue stream. If you buy it used, you're really paying for the nose for sky-high service costs as high as $500+. Used value on the Flagship Fold 4 drops to half in under a year, and if it follows the Fold 2 and 3, 1/3 to 1/4 value in 2 years. Nobody wants to buy a proven service problem. Seeing this play out in advance, in Seoul. We have Samsung stores to fix these issues located all over the city here. People in the United States and elsewhere go through a lot more trouble to find service, or must trust mailing a device in. They aren't going to like that once problems arise.
    Reply