Samsung can’t afford to play it safe with Apple’s first foldable phone

The Galaxy Unpacked event centered around foldable devices looks set to be Samsung’s biggest in years. The company is expected to launch new versions of its foldable and flip phones while introducing a completely new foldable form factor that is shorter and wider.

This will be the second change to Samsung’s foldable range in less than 12 months, after last year. Galaxy Z Tri-Fold. For years, there was the small Flip and the Big Fold, and that was enough. Not anymore. With the first foldable iPhone on the horizon, Samsung can’t afford to take a risk.

Leaks have been pointing to a more widespread Samsung foldable phone for months, almost as long as we’ve been told Apple’s first foldable device will be similarly squat. Samsung itself has admitted that a new design is on the way, teasing A “new look” for foldable phones, while Unpacked invitations show the top of the ticket stub being torn off to leave a shorter section behind.

The wider fold isn’t exactly new. Huawei was the first this year with its passport-style design Bora X MaxBut this design goes back further than that. Google’s initial Pixel Fold It was wider than most, as it were Oppo Find NAnd Microsoft’s unusual dual screen dihedral It was wider. Perhaps ironically, the main reason behind the disappearance of these wider foldable devices is that Samsung itself rejected the design, and quickly improved its foldable phones towards thin external screens and square internal screens.

Samsung had the influence to change the market because it was until now the main player in foldable devices. It combined first-mover advantage with massive size and influence Sales control It largely determines the direction of the market. Only in recent years have rival device innovations, including near-crimped screens and reliable dust isolation, pushed Samsung to catch up, but last year the company reasserted itself with the display’s impressively thin design. Z Fold 7 And edge-to-edge cover screen for Z Flip 7which are the most complete foldable devices to date.

The dynamic is about to change. There’s always a bigger fish, and in this case it’s Apple. Industry experts have long predicted that Apple’s entry into the market was the only thing that could move foldable devices from niche interest to mainstream device category, and all evidence suggests we’ll find out in September if that’s true. “The launch of Apple’s first foldable iPhone will mark a turning point for the foldable sector,” IDC analyst Francisco Geronimo says in a report. Forecast report The company will claim a whopping 34 percent share of the foldable market by value in its first year.

To continue with the water metaphors, Samsung is hoping that a rising tide will lift all boats, increasing the size of the foldable market for everyone. But there is also a significant risk that Apple’s arrival will cause Samsung to falter, impacting its sales and disrupting the market dominance it has spent seven years building.

Beating Apple with a similar form factor seems like smart insurance. The worst case scenario for Samsung would be unanimous agreement that the foldable iPhone is excellent, with nothing to compare it to. Offering a foldable device more widely now would at least eliminate that risk, while keeping the usual Flip and Fold designs would provide cover should those designs continue to be popular.

However, imitating Apple carries risks, as Samsung knows well. Just look at how Galaxy S25 Edge I worked it out. Samsung’s slim phone arrived a few months before Apple introduced the phone iPhone Air And it should feel like a fairly safe bet. Despite this, sales never materialized, and even the air was… A disappointment for Apple. Then there’s Samsung’s previous foldable experiment, the Galaxy Z TriFold, which It lasted less than three months In the American market. It remains to be seen whether we will see a sequel.

We won’t know until tomorrow exactly what Samsung has in store, and how great a foldable device will be on a larger scale. It could be another couple of months before we see Apple’s response, and months after that before we know whether it will shake up the foldable phone market in the way analysts expect. Either way, Samsung can’t wait to find out. Expanding its lineup is a gamble, but the risks of inaction could be greater.