The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a smash hit. Samsung should thank Apple
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 is breaking records.
In an official press release, Samsung is proudly touting a huge 45% sales increase in Europe for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series compared to last year’s Fold 7 in its first nine weeks. That includes both the new passport-style Fold 8 and rebranded Fold 8 Ultra, but let’s face it, yet another book-style device would never cause this sort of uplift.
Samsung’s Mobile Corporate Vice President for the UK & Ireland, Richard Chang, has released a bullish statement, declaring that “foldables have officially gone mainstream”. That may be true, but Samsung would’ve never been able to do it without its famous rival in Cupertino.
The Apple effect
As an Android enthusiast, I hate to admit how much influence Apple has on the entire smartphone market.
In the last two months alone, Honor has copied the iPhone’s design on its Magic 9 flagship and several brands have borrowed the 18 Pro’s signature burgundy colourway. Many companies have launched Pro Max-branded flagships recently, and Xiaomi even skipped the 16 series to match the iPhone.
However, with the iPhone Duo, Apple wielded its influence many months ahead of launch. While Apple is famed for keeping its plans under wraps, the fact that Samsung manufactures the Duo displays meant it was among the first to know.
Apple
With first approaches likely to have taken place two or even three years ago, it gave Samsung plenty of time to respond. In fact, adapting the book-style foldable design for a passport form factor was likely much more straightforward than Apple’s brand-new device.
The timing was no coincidence. While Samsung could’ve launched the wide Z Fold 8 years earlier, it knew that hoovering up some of the foldable iPhone hype would serve it well, and that certainly seems to have been a wise move.
Would we have seen the Galaxy Z Fold 8 without Apple’s influence? Probably, at some point. But seven generations of book-style foldables suggest it wasn’t exactly a priority.
Luke Baker
The ‘affordable’ option
As well as coming to market first, Samsung also knew it had to price the Z Fold 8 very competitively. Unlike with the design, the company probably didn’t have inside knowledge about how much the Duo was going to cost, but rumours consistently suggested $2,000 as a baseline.
With a starting price of £1,699/$1,899.99, no one would call the Z Fold 8 genuinely affordable, but compared to the £1,999/$1,999 iPhone Duo and £1,899/$2,099 Z Fold 8 Ultra, it feels like relative value for money. That’s undoubtedly had a bearing on its success.
But ultimately, it’s the fact that the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a genuinely good device that’s had the biggest bearing on its success. Now that the iPhone Duo is available, will Apple be able to match or even surpass it? Only time will tell.
