Samsung Says Foldable Phone Shipments Reached Nearly 10 Million in 2021

Samsung's new Galaxy Unpacked event is all set to take place on August 10 and its next-generation foldable phones — Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be the highlights of the event. Ahead of the event, Samsung Mobile Chief TM Roh on Wednesday pointed out the impressive sales growth achieved by foldable smartphones. The executive stated that almost 10 million foldable smartphones were shipped worldwide last year, up 300 percent from 2020. Almost 70 percent of foldable customers purchased the Galaxy Flip 3 over the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Roh posted a press note on the Samsung website detailing the fast-paced growth of foldable smartphones. The Samsung executive notes that the industry shipped almost 10 million foldable smartphones worldwide in 2021, marking a 300 percent increase from 2020. Roh claims that 70 percent of Galaxy foldable users turned to the Galaxy Flip last year.

Samsung believes that people will continue picking up foldable phones and stake a bigger claim in the overall smartphone market. The brand is working with top tech firms including Google, and Microsoft to improve the experience in the foldable ecosystem.

In the post, Roh also hints at the arrival of Samsung's next-generation foldable phones. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Galaxy Z Flip 4 are expected to be unveiled during the Galaxy Unpacked event on August 10.

As per a recent report by Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), the South Korean smartphone brand has continued to dominate the foldable smartphone category even after its market share fell to 74 percent in Q1 2022. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 led the market for the third consecutive quarter with a 51 percent share, while the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 retained the second position for the third consecutive quarter. These two Samsung foldable devices along with Huawei P50 Pocket accounted for 91 percent of the market share.

Huawei, Motorola, Xiaomi, and Oppo are also increasingly investing now in the foldable phone space. Huawei with its Mate X and Mate X2 foldable smartphones marked its presence in the space, while Xiaomi launched Mi Mix Fold as the company's first foldable smartphone in China in March last year. Oppo's Find N foldable was unveiled at the end of 2021.