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| Roh Tae-moon, head of Samsung Electronics' mobile business, introduces the company's Galaxy S21 smartphone during a virtual 'Unpacked' event, Jan. 15. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Samsung Electronics is slated to hold an Aug. 11 virtual showcase to introduce its latest foldable phones and other devices, such as smartwatches and wireless earbuds, according to overseas media, Sunday.
At the virtual "Unpacked" event, Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold3 and the Galaxy Z Flip3, and the Galaxy Watch4 and the Galaxy Watch4 Classic smartwatches. It will also unveil the new Galaxy Buzz2 wireless earbuds, according to overseas media.
Samsung had been expected to showcase the Galaxy S21 FE, a cheaper version of its premium Galaxy S21 smartphone, but it scrapped the plan to focus on the new foldable smartphones.
A company official said he could not confirm the precise schedule for the Unpacked event ― "Samsung will issue an invitation and reveal the exact date," he said.
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| A rendered image of Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 3 / Captured from GSMArena |
The main difference from previous foldable phones is that users will be able to use the S Pen stylus with the new Galaxy Z Fold, the overseas media said. The clamshell-style Galaxy Z Flip3 is expected to feature a larger external display compared to the prior version.
Industry analysts estimate that Samsung will lower the price of the new phones to better position them in the new form factor competition with Chinese rivals.
Samsung pioneered the foldable smartphone market with the Galaxy Z Fold in 2019, but has failed to increase sales mainly because of its high prices.
Around 500,000 foldable smartphones were sold worldwide in 2019 and about 3 million in 2020. But Kiwoom Securities analyst Kim Ji-san expects the market will more than double to 7.19 million this year with Chinese phone makers accelerating the releases their own foldable phones.
The figure is estimated to grow to 14.1 million in 2022 and to 31.12 million in 2023 when Apple is forecast to release its foldable iPhone.
With reduced price tags and improved features, such as an S Pen stylus, Samsung will be able to enjoy a first-mover advantage, the analyst said.
"Samsung Electronics is focusing on the foldable phone market in a bid to narrow the gap with Apple in the premium phone market. Instead of the big-screen Galaxy Note series, they have released the new one to establish it as a flagship," Kim said adding that the company's foldable phone sales volume this year will be around at 6.17 million for an 86 percent share of the market.
Samsung will use a new operating system developed with Google for its smartwatch, unlike the previous Galaxy Watch products that used its own software.
At the Mobile World Congress event held in Barcelona, Spain last week, Samsung unveiled One UI Watch OS, which will be incorporated into its next-generation Galaxy Watch. Samsung said it developed the software with Google to offer a more seamless experience between the watch and Google's Android OS.
With the new system, Samsung is expected to challenge Apple Watch, the leading product in the smartwatch segment. Because Samsung had used its own OS for its smartwatch, users felt the Galaxy Watch lacked content compared to the Android app ecosystem.
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