By Rishi Padhi, Research Principal, Gartner

What role new smartphones can play in attracting more customers towards Samsung?
Currently the share of foldable devices within smartphones is small but is expected to grow out compared to overall smartphones. In our 5-year forecast, we expect foldables to grow at nearly 49% CAGR which when compared to the rest of smartphones being flat or slightly positive is a definite good sign for Samsung in terms of demand to come. The most popular category within foldable smartphones is the flip design and with lowered cost of production, the flip design being priced close to normal flagships is an added benefit that puts Flip devices as an attractive proposition for consumers.

How will the foldable smartphone market will play out in the future, and will Samsung’s dominance be challenged anytime soon?
The competition for Samsung is mostly from vendors which have limited global penetration and Samsung benefits in terms of having a strong market presence as well as being the only foldable option in some markets helping them maintain their lead over others. However, the market for foldable smartphones is still very small compared to overall smartphones and hence, vendors are mainly looking to create their own userbase rather than competing for share.