Samsung took a bold step in 2019 when it launched the original Galaxy Fold. The device was too rough around the edges and too expensive, but it showed that the limits to what a smartphone is can be expanded.
Merely six months later, the company absolutely hit it out of the park with the Galaxy Z Flip. Its first clamshell foldable implemented the many lessons Samsung had learned from the Galaxy Fold's launch. It had better build quality, durability and functionality.
Then came the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It was the perfect successor to the original model. The fit and finish were considerably improved. The device was much more durable and new functionality was added to further improve the user experience.
With every new iteration, Samsung has shown the capability to improve upon its foldable smartphones. Each new product has been consistently better than the last. In just two years, the company has been able to launch foldable smartphones that are deserving of being seen as mainstream devices.
Yet, despite that, critics have always tried to bring down Samsung's impressive achievements. The foldables were kept being painted as unfinished. Doubts were created in the mind of potential customers that they would be wasting their money on these risky devices. Some even called into question the future of the foldable market as a whole. They presented it as a fad that would die out soon enough.
Samsung didn't really pay much attention to all of that. It kept its head down and continued to innovate in this segment. There is no bigger validation of its commitment to the foldable market than its decision to skip a new Galaxy Note flagship this year.
Due to the ongoing chip shortage, it probably would have been difficult for Samsung to ensure adequate chip supplies for at least two new Galaxy Note devices and two new foldables. Many would have expected Samsung to play it safe and rely on the continued success of the Note family.
Instead, the company chose to break out of that comfort zone and push forward with its new foldable smartphones. It has prioritized the Galaxy Z Fold 3 (review) and Galaxy Z Flip 3 over devices that would have sold very well. That was a pretty gutsy move.
Perhaps Samsung knew that the changes that it has introduced with the new foldables will be enough to entice a lot more customers to buy them. They have better and more durable displays, flagship-level performance, great new features and are even water-resistant.
Samsung also gave the devices a significant price cut. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 (review) starts at $999, breaking that $1,000 psychological barrier. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 is also cheaper than its predecessors at $1,799.
The way customers just can't stop buying these devices shows that Samsung made the right decision. The earliest pre-order figures came from South Korea. Over 450,000 units were pre-ordered of the two foldables combined. Samsung later confirmed that pre-orders for these devices were more than its entire foldable smartphone sales to date.
The latest figures provided today confirm that people are voting with their wallets in favor of Samsung. In South Korea alone, 920,000 units combined have been pre-orders. That's twice as many pre-orders as Samsung got for the Galaxy S21 in its home country this year. Pre-order performance of its new foldables is actually 30% better than the Galaxy Note 20 and a whopping 80% better than the Galaxy S21.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is capturing a lot of customers at its attractive price point. 70% of these 920,000 pre-orders were for the Galaxy Z Flip 3. Remember, these figures are only for South Korea. Other major markets are likely seeing robust pre-order performance as well.
It's safe to assume that Samsung has already sold over a million new foldable smartphones through pre-orders across the globe. The new devices are so popular that supply shortages are already been reported in some markets.
Clearly, a lot more people are now willing to take a chance on Samsung's foldables. This hasn't just happened out of the blue. It's the trust that Samsung has built up over the past couple of years. It's the commitment that the company has shown to this new segment that it's entirely leading right now.
Samsung let the numbers do the talking. After all, these are some of the best Samsung phones ever made. The incredible demand that now exists for the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 is more than enough to shut up the critics would have liked nothing more than to see this bold innovation fail.
As the saying goes, build it and they will come. Samsung did. They have.
