Folks, I’m sipping my coffee and reading about the latest battle between Apple and Samsung, and I have to say, it’s getting interesting. The two tech giants are about to enter a new phase in their nearly decades-long fight for smartphone dominance. Samsung just introduced three new foldable phones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which they hope will appeal to a broader audience. And let’s be real, the timing is perfect – Apple is expected to release its first foldable iPhone in September.
I mean, can you blame Samsung for trying to get a head start? They’ve been the primary seller of those “first-class seats” in the foldable phone market, but they might soon find themselves sharing the spotlight with Apple. Drew Blackard, Samsung’s senior vice president of mobile product management, told CNN that an Apple foldable could actually bring more attention to the market, which would be a win-win for Samsung. Bless their hearts for being optimistic about it.
It’s worth noting that foldables represent a small slice of the smartphone market, but they give big-spending customers more choices at a time when most smartphones look the same. One analyst compared the foldable market to airplane tickets – you’ve got to balance the number of first-class seats with the number of coach seats to make the most money. You want to get as much money out of the market as possible, while making people happy at every point along the way.
The new Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a redesigned model that’s shorter and wider, resembling a Moleskin notebook that can nearly fit in the palm of your hand. Samsung has marketed its Z Fold devices to early adopters and those who primarily use their phone for work in the past, but with the Z Fold 8, they’re tailoring the design for more general tasks like watching videos and reading. Some users had previously complained that most clips aren’t made to fit the older Z Fold phone screens, resulting in large black bars at the top and bottom. But the new look could also improve how certain features work on Samsung’s foldables.
Samsung’s new phones will come with Google’s Gemini Notebook app, which can analyze documents and other files, and will also be able to take actions across apps through Gemini. They’ve also launched a larger new foldable with a bigger screen and a sharper camera called the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, and an upgraded version of its flip phone. But those improvements come at a steep cost – the Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts at about $1,900, while the Galaxy Z Fold Ultra begins at roughly $2,100, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8 starts at $1,200.
Apple, on the other hand, is expected to debut its first foldable device at its annual iPhone launch event in September. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst for TF International Securities, has posted that the company is ordering components for a foldable iPhone this year. If Apple does enter the market, it could give foldable phones a “stamp of approval,” according to Gerrit Schneemann, an analyst following the smartphone market for Counterpoint Research.
The firm expects shipments of foldable phones to grow 21% annually in 2026, largely driven by Apple’s entry into the market and higher demand for book-style devices like Samsung’s new models. Apple is estimated to capture 25% of the foldable market in 2026, compared to Samsung’s 32%. Analysts are skeptical that foldable phones will ever become as popular as regular smartphones, largely because of their high prices.
But Blackard says that isn’t Samsung’s goal. Instead, he sees the market possibly returning to the pre-smartphone era, when it was normal for cell phones to come in different shapes and sizes. “There was actually a big diversity of form factors for many years,” he said. “And my feeling is we’ll probably end up at a place like that.” You can’t make this stuff up, folks – the battle for smartphone dominance is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
In conclusion, the smartphone market is about to get a shake-up with Samsung’s new foldable phones and Apple’s expected entry into the market. While it’s unclear how things will play out, one thing is for sure – it’s going to be fun to watch. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll all be carrying around foldable phones that look like miniature laptops. Until then, I’ll just stick to my trusty old smartphone and enjoy the show. After all, as the saying goes, “you can’t teach an old elephant new tricks,” but you can definitely teach an old elephant to use a foldable phone – eventually.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
