Samsung can’t afford to play it safe with Apple’s upcoming foldable phone

The upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event looks set to be Samsung’s biggest in years. The company is expected to launch new versions of its Fold and Flip phones while also introducing a new version of the Fold form that is shorter and wider.

It would be Samsung’s second production shakeup in less than 12 months, after last year. Galaxy Z TriFold. For years, there was a small Flip and a large Fold, and that was enough. Not anymore. With the first foldable iPhone just around the corner, Samsung can’t play it safe.

Leaks have been pointing to Samsung’s big foldable for a few months, as long as we’ve been told Apple’s first room will be the same. Samsung itself confirmed that the new design is on the way, laughing A “new look” for folded phones, with its Unwrapped label showing the top part of a torn ticket leaving a short section behind.

The wider curve is not new. Huawei was the first boxer this year with its passport Pura X Maxbut this design goes back a long way. Google’s first Pixel Fold it was bigger than most, as it was Oppo Find Nand Microsoft’s unusual dual-screen Surface Duo it was bigger. Perhaps surprisingly, the main reason why these larger foldables died is because Samsung itself rejected the design, optimizing its Fold phones for smaller external and internal screens.

Samsung had the power to change the market because until now it has been the biggest player in the portfolio. It included the first opportunity to move with its size and shape control the business and in particular to dictate the direction of the market. It has been in recent years that the technical equipment of its competitors, including useless displays and reliable dust protection, has forced Samsung to start playing, but last year the company strengthened itself again with a very thin design of the Z fold 7 and edge-to-edge cover Z 7His last two foldables yet.

The dynamic is about to change. There’s always a big fish, and that’s Apple. Industry experts have been predicting that Apple’s entry into the market is the only thing that can bring writing from a niche interest to the mainstream, and all the evidence shows that in September we will find out if this is true. “The launch of Apple’s first foldable iPhone will be a turning point for the foldable segment,” said IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo instead. report forecast the company will take 34 percent of the market share by value in its first year.

Continuing with the water metaphors, Samsung hopes that the rising tide will lift all boats, increasing the size of the curved market for everyone. But there is a big risk that the arrival of Apple will leave Samsung reeling, eating into its sales and undermining the market dominance it has spent seven years building.

Leading Apple with similar features seems like smart insurance. Samsung’s worst case may be the consensus that the foldable iPhone is the best, with nothing to match the cage. Bringing in more folds now removes that risk, while keeping the standard Flip and Fold feature around can provide cover if it becomes too popular.

However, aping Apple has risks, as Samsung knows all too well. Let’s see how Galaxy S25 Edge it was done. Samsung’s small phone arrived a few months before Apple’s iPhone Air and must have felt like a safe bet. Sales did not happen, and even Air has been a to Apple’s dismay. Then there’s Samsung’s experiment that could go awry, the Galaxy Z TriFold, itself it lasted less than three months in the US market. It remains to be seen if we will see a sequel.

We won’t know until tomorrow what Samsung has in store, and what its next foldable will look like. It could be another two months before we see Apple’s response, and months before we know if it will revolutionize the flexible phone market the way analysts expect. Either way, Samsung can’t wait to find out. Extending his line is a gamble, but the risk of staying silent may be greater.