Honor beats Samsung sales even before the thinnest foldable phone launch
It seems that even the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition wouldn't be able to save Samsung from its foldable phone sale doldrums. According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung has been surpassed in foldable phone sales in the second-largest global market for such phones, Europe.
Apparently, Honor has taken the reins there, even before it releases the thinnest foldable phone globally tomorrow at a dedicated event during the IFA 2024 expo. It will be thinner than the special Z Fold edition, and still beat it in specs and pricing.
With the advent of the Magic V3, things may become even more dire for Samsung in Europe, as it has already been surpassed in China where Huawei's foldables, but also the models from Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, and other local brands reign supreme.
HONOR aggressively expanded into the European and Asia Pacific markets, driving a 455% YoY increase in its global foldable shipments in Q2 2024, the largest YoY growth among all brands. HONOR targeted markets outside China with its ultraslim Magic V2, which is less than 10mm thick when folded. In Q2 2024, the HONOR Magic V2 was the most-shipped book-type foldable across all regions excluding China, where Huawei dominates.
Counterpoint, August '24
Even when closed, the Magic V3 is only 9.2mm and weighs just 226g, or less than 8 ounces. For comparison, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 is 30% thicker at 0.22 inches (12.1 mm) when closed, even though Samsung slimmed it down compared to its predecessors. The Z Fold Special Edition, on the other hand, will be 10.5 mm thick when closed, still a fatso compared to the V3.
Faced with that growing foldable phone competition, Samsung reportedly wanted to set the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition apart by making it tougher and more durable than the Chinese foldables. It added water-resistance and ingress protection designs, but that made the phone thicker than other Chinese foldables, let alone the upcoming Honor Magic V3 that is just incredibly thin and light.
Still, Samsung is now of the opinion that the added durability is worth a shot, and The Elec is reporting that it will release a limited batch of Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition phones next month to test the market acceptance. It might be more expensive than the Z Fold 6, though, so it still remains to be seen how Samsung's foldable phones battle with the Chinese brands will unfold.
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