Samsung is a powerhouse when it comes to smartphones with archrival Apple and the South Korean TV, smartphone and appliance maker controlling the bulk of the premium smartphone market and

100% of the foldable market in Australia. it is in the foldable market that Samsung has excelled having pioneered the whole concept of a modern day highly functional foldable smartphone with

foldables today making up over 12% of Samsung’s total sales according to Gary McGregor Samsung’s Vice President of mobile. He also said that over 30% of the people who are buying a Samsung

foldable smartphone are coming from “another brand”. In 2021, almost 10 million foldable phones were shipped across the industry, marking a 300% increase compared to 2020. Coming as little

that integrate seamlessly with a Samsung smartphone, tablet, or TV. The big advantage they have right now is that they have little if any competition despite Motorola set to launch a

Motorola X Foldable in China later today. 2 years ago, Motorola, who pioneered the early Flip phone with their highly popular Razr, had a crack at taking on Samsung with an all new model, it

was rushed with the device failing to deliver on several fronts as a result it was a total flop. Chinese brand TCL who are struggling to hold onto market share in Australia have been

spruiking foldable smartphones for three years but so far, they have been unable to deliver a product despite talking the talk with journalists. According to analysts, the problem is that

Chinese brands such as Oppo and TCL don’t have the brand clout of Samsung nor do they have the manufacturing clout to deliver the right components at the right price, for their

often-spruiked foldable prototypes, that they showing to journalists claiming, “It’s coming”. When asked why TCL had failed to release a foldable smartphone despite spruiking a variation of

models a European based senior TCL executive said, “We don’t see how we can deliver a foldable product and compete against Samsung and make money.” “Ideally, we want to come into the

foldable product with a far more affordable product than what Samsung are currently offering but that is not easy.”. In an exclusive interview with ChannelNews McGregor said that the people

who are buying the premium priced Samsung foldable smartphones “Are more considered than they have ever been before when they go to buy” he said. “They are doing a lot more research and

homework into what they are buying, they are reading reviews”. “I think the market will remain pretty strong in the second half with premium continuing to grow” he added. McGregor admits

that he is going after profitability over volume and with his new devices well and truly in the premium market when it comes to price. The Galaxy Z Flip4 comes in two models including the

base and Bespoke editions. The 128GB retails for $1,499, 256GB for $1,649, 512GB for $1,849, and the Bespoke 256GB version costs $1,729. The Galaxy Z Fold4 starts from $2,499 for the 256GB

variation, $2,699 for the 512GB and $2,999 for the 1TB memory variant. McGregor expects the local subsidiary to sell twice as many Fold4 and Flip4 phones as Fold3 and Flip3 phones with

Samsung claiming that current sales are 50/50 which is surprising as the global ration is 60/40 in favour of the Flip model. McGregor said that demand for the new range of Fold and Flip

model smartphones will come primarily from new customers due to the relatively short time that their previous Samsung foldable models have been in market. Talking about the overall market

and the decline in sales reported by analysts he said, “What we have missed during COVID is the immigrant market coming into Australia”. Gary McGregor Vice President Mobile Samsung Australia

Research shows that the lack of immigration has impacted multiple brands as well as Samsung’s A series product. Apple customers who are switching to a foldable, is due in part to the big

iPhone maker nor having a foldable device claim analysts. McGregor claims that the bulk of sales going forward will be new people coming into the market and existing customers upgrading from

a traditional smartphone to a foldable device. McGregor sees a lot of “upsides” for the foldable market with Samsung having one massive advantage over their competitors “integration and

connectivity with other Samsung products.” “Whether it be a traditional smartphone, foldable or one of our tablets a Samsung customer can easily connect between devices, our new buds can be

used with a foldable device table or when watching a Samsung TV”. This view is supported by analyst, Foad Fadaghi, managing director of Telstye, who expects sales of foldable phones to

double in Australia over the next 12 months, up from the 5 per cent to 6 per cent of all Android phone sales. As for the overall market Shipments of “ultra-premium” phones—devices sold for

$1000 or more—grew by more than 20% during the same period, research group Counterpoint said. This category comprises mostly of Apple iPhones and Samsung’s premium Galaxy models. The

resilience of the phone industry’s premium market mirrors that of the luxury-goods business, as wealthier consumers show a willingness to keep spending on clothing, handbags and jewellery

despite economic rockiness. Brands including LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Ralph Lauren and Gucci have reported robust growth this year and McGregor is confident that the Samsung

brand is up there when it comes to tech products in particular foldable smartphones.