Let’s take a look at the beginnings of Samsung’s foldable phones and what changes they have undergone over the years to date.
2019: Samsung introduces its first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold
Samsung launched its first foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, in 2019, expanding its premium lineup in addition to the long-running Galaxy S series and the discontinued Galaxy Note series. However, the Galaxy Fold was not the first smartphone with a foldable screen. That title belongs to the Royole FlexPai, made by a lesser-known Chinese company Royole, introduced in October 2018. As Samsung’s first foldable phone, the device got off to a rocky start. Days after its launch in February 2019, review units of the Galaxy Fold encountered a wide range of issues that forced the company to recall them all. Due to the issues, Samsung had to postpone the shipment to look into the Galaxy Fold’s issues. It wasn’t until later in July 2019 that the company finally caught on and set a new release date of September 2019. The first Galaxy Fold had a 7.5-inch internal AMOLED screen that can be folded into a book, as well as a secondary 4.6-inch 720p panel on the outside for easy tasks such as chatting, browsing, making calls and keeping up with social media updates. With an asking price of $1,980, the Galaxy Fold didn’t come cheap. In addition to the foldable chops, it offered premium specs under the hood, including 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage, 12GB of RAM, Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 855 processor, 15W wired and wireless charging, and a capable camera system identical to the then Galaxy S1+flag of the company. .
2020: Major transitions
After the mess that was the Galaxy Fold launch in 2019, Samsung has been doing a lot of heavy lifting in the background since then. In 2020, the company launched the second generation Galaxy Fold, the most significant upgrade to the series to date. The second-generation foldable phone also saw Samsung revise its folding naming scheme and introduce the Galaxy Z series. Using the new design, the second-generation Galaxy Fold was named the Galaxy Z Fold 2. For the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung’s main focus was to make the device more robust. The hinge was sturdy (to ensure the company didn’t suffer another PR disaster) and could stand at any angle. Samsung has also evolved the design, with the exterior sporting a modern look similar to the Galaxy Note 20 series launched in the same year. The company has swapped the 7.3- and 4.6-inch internal panels and covers of the predecessor for larger 7.6- and 6.2-inch panels, respectively. To top it off, it has made the usual upgrades to the internals to be on par with flagship smartphones, such as increasing fast charging speeds, beefing up the battery, upgrading the processor and more. Image credit: Samsung The Galaxy Z Fold 2 wasn’t the only foldable from Samsung in 2020, however. The company also unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip, under the Galaxy Z series umbrella. The first Galaxy Z Flip had a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display on the inside and a smaller 1.1-inch panel on the outside to keep track of notifications. Like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the Snapdragon 865 5G powered the Z Flip with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. The idea behind the Z Flip series was to introduce a regular-sized smartphone that could be folded in half, unlike the unusual Z Fold series, plus it provided a lower entry point in terms of price. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip launched at $2000 and $1450, respectively.
2021 to 2022: Improvement
Following on from the solid foundation laid last year, Samsung’s foldable phones had fully matured and the company had nothing game-changing to reveal at its 2021 launch event. It just picked up where it left off by improving on the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip of successors. One important thing to note is that the company never released a Z Flip 2 – the successor to the original Z Flip is the Z Flip 3, which was supposed to help reduce confusion by bringing the version number in line with the Fold. For the Galaxy Z Flip series, the Flip 3 retained the dual 12MP camera array but placed them in a vertical unit. The 10MP selfie camera and 6.7-inch main panel remained intact. But Samsung bumped up the exterior to 1.9 inches. Other areas such as the exterior have also seen minor upgrades, while under the hood, nothing much has changed apart from the processor upgrade to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888. Image credit: Samsung Moving on to the Galaxy Z Fold 3, it mostly kept the same improvement theme, with most critical features staying the same or getting a slight upgrade. But in addition to the improvement, Samsung officially added stylus support, which was very important for the Z Fold series. Another small but welcome change Samsung brought with the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 was support for IPX8 water resistance, a first for its foldable smartphones. The duo also received a new Aluminum Armor frame on the outside and Gorilla Glass Victus on top of the display to help improve drop and scratch resistance. A year later, in 2022, Samsung introduced the sleeker Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4. The Z Flip 4 looks like a standard smartphone at just 0.27 inches when unfolded, making it thinner than the flagship Galaxy Samsung S22. On the other hand, the Galaxy Fold 4 is more compact and introduces a larger 1TB storage option, faster charging and minor camera upgrades. To top it off, it runs Google’s Android 12L which focuses on the big screen to enhance the software experience.
What does the future hold for Samsung’s foldable phones?
According to Samsung, more than 70% of its foldable sales came from the clamshell Z Flip series in 2021. Perhaps this could indicate that consumers want to keep the standard smartphone form factor and still get the folding experience. With more than 10 million foldable phones sold in 2021, Samsung’s Z series has a bright future. Unlike the beginning, the range is more refined and robust, which helps build consumer confidence. Hopefully, production costs for foldable smartphones will come down in the future to help lower the retail price. With an affordable price, more consumers can get on board and Samsung’s flip phones will really start to take off.
