Samsung unpacks new foldables with slimmer design, upgraded processor

Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the company’s mobile experience (MX) division, is unveiling Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 at the Galaxy Unpacked event held at COEX in Seoul on July 26. [Courtesy of Samsung Electronics]

South Korea’s tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. on Wednesday unveiled its latest foldable smartphone series - the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 - during its annual Galaxy Unpacked event which was held in Korea for the first time.

By boldly breaking the tradition of holding the event in New York, the tech giant has sent a message to the world that Korea is the center of mobile phone innovation. The intention is to block the possibility of market erosion in a situation where Chinese smartphone companies like Huawei Technologies Co., OPPO Electronics Corp., Vivo Mobile Communications Co., and Xiaomi Inc. are releasing foldable phones one after another, and even Apple Inc. is rushing to enter the Indian market.

Roh Tae-moon, president and head of the company’s mobile experience (MX) division, took the stage at the event held at COEX in Seoul, expressing confidence in the company as a “big player in the smartphone industry.”

“Currently, tens of millions of people are using foldable smartphones, but in a few years, foldables will exceed 100 million units,” Roh said. “Samsung is leading in creating new categories and changing the lifestyles of millions of people, not just offering different form factors.”

He emphasized that the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 are the latest products that fulfill the company’s promise of delivering experiences tailored to various customer demands through innovative technologies.

The two keywords for the event were “Seoul” and “foldable.” Samsung Electronics presented a provocative message, ”Join the flip side,“ implying that the smartphone industry will be led by foldable devices and that consumers should choose Samsung phones with overwhelming technological capabilities.

At the event, the company introduced the Flip 5, which has twice the front display area, and the Fold 5, which is more than 2 millimeters thinner than its predecessor by innovating the hinge.

The company also introduced the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra tablet with up to 1 terabyte (TB) of storage and Snapdragon for Galaxy that can boast laptop-like performance, and the Galaxy Watch 6, which has a 20 percent wider display with fewer bezels.

The event was attended by around 700 global media representatives. In particular, about 150 Asian media outlets attended the event, more than double the number from the previous year.

Samsung Electronics is currently facing two challenges: the foldable offensive from Chinese companies and Apple‘s foray into the Indian market.

According to market research firm DSCC, at the first quarter of this year, Samsung Electronics holds 45 percent of the foldable smartphone market share, followed by OPPO at 21 percent and Huawei at 15 percent. Although the company is still the leader, its market share, which was once over 90 percent, has been cut in half.