Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 Indicating a Growing Market?

According to recent reports, Samsung is setting its hopes high for its new premier folding phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 2. Releasing a year after their prior model, the Fold 2 boasts a larger screen, higher resolutions, a faster processor, and a 120Hz display. Samsung hopes these components, combined with a more welcoming market, could push their new device to record heights.

As reported on the Korean website YonHap News, the tech giant has committed to manufacturing 800,000 units in 2020 alone. This is thought to be hundreds of thousands of more units than with their prior iteration, which had around 500,000 developed in a similar timeframe.

Supporting this confidence are preorder numbers that Samsung saw at its home in Korea. Reaching over 50,000, these might be dwarfed by traditional smart-phone preorder numbers, but they still set a record for folding screen devices. So, what might this mean for the future of the folding-phone?

Market Saturation

There's little doubt that folding phones can allow more engaging methods of interaction, but the industry is yet unsure of whether these advantages outweigh the costs for the average buyer. In regular operations, standard smartphones offer few downsides, and this is likely to remain true for the bulk of users.

Confounding this is the fact that current trends show an increasing number of users turning to mobiles as their default media devices. A recent report published by the World Advertising Research Center predicted that by 2025, around 72.6 percent of internet users will access the web solely on their smartphone. This could facilitate a change where greater importance is placed on mobile screen space as it is with computer monitors and TV screens.

The question then becomes where the line is drawn. Consider a common use for mobiles, such as playing online casino games. On this front, you could check how the latest casino bonuses are rated and reviewed here, find the right website, and get playing from any standard smartphone. A larger screen might allow slightly easier navigation and interaction, but these improvements would be minor.

On the other hand, we could use the example of somebody who mostly uses their phone for social media and watching video streams. In this case, the advantages of folding devices would be much more pronounced, meaning the extra cost folding phones incur might not be as much of an issue. Additionally, we'd need to consider the socio-cultural aspects of how folding phones operate. Will there be a bias about watching media on mobiles as has been seen in Hollywood circles, and would this matter to most people?

Replacement or Alternative

Ultimately, unless we know the end-state of device costs versus evolving user demands, it's impossible to predict how devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 will perform. While current indicators are strong, it's also possible that high prices and lack of user interest could cause a downturn as seen in the recent VR market. For the next few years at least, folding and traditional smartphones are likely to exist as alternatives. Beyond this point, we might see a situation where one becomes increasingly niche, or where one largely replaces the other.