Samsung shipped nearly 10 million foldable screen smartphones in 2021, a significant number that is expected to grow further in 2022.
A few weeks before its highly anticipated Unpacked event, Samsung announces that it has shipped “nearly 10 million smartphones with foldable screens” worldwide. In a post on Samsung Newsroom, Samsung’s Director of Mobile Experience (MX), Dr. TM Roh, explained that this represents a 300% increase from 2020 and that he expects this “rapid growth” continues. Most customers in this segment, around 70% apparently, would have opted for the Flip, which closes like a clamshell. And that’s hardly surprising: Samsung had admitted some time ago that the Flip 3 had motivated more customers to switch brands to Samsung than its “traditional” flagships.
Samsung shipped nearly 10 million foldable screen smartphones in 2021
The 10 million units shipped by Samsung last year is a much larger number than previously reported by IDC. In a report by the International Data Corporation published in February, we learned that, after “observing the worldwide shipments of smartphones with foldable screens, in both their forms, [celles-ci] reach a total of 7.1 million units in 2021.” Regardless of the actual figure, Samsung’s MX division was seeing an increase in revenue last year, largely due to strong sales of its foldable-screen devices and its latest generation Galaxy S.
A significant figure which should increase further in 2022
In addition to providing information on the sales status of these devices, TM Roh also confirmed that the company will introduce its next Flip and Fold models during its next Unpacked event. He also said that Samsung had made improvements to the user experience on its devices: “I can’t wait for people to discover new ways to do even more things with these new foldable devices… During our next Unpacked on August 10 , you’ll see that the impact of our innovations isn’t just about what the technology can do. It’s about what you can do. We’ve once again drawn inspiration from the source that matters most to us – Galaxy users – to push the boundaries of what’s possible. I can’t wait to show you the potential of our new Samsung Galaxy with foldable screen as the ultimate tools for both your productivity and self-expression.”