The iPhone Duo marks Apple’s entry into the market of foldables. It’s usually a pretty big deal, and as you’d expect, analysts are predicting that it will sell like gangbusters. Ironically, at the same time, its reveal may have helped drive up the sales for the incumbent Samsung. A report out of the tech giant’s home market claims that sales of the new Galaxy Z Fold8, which sports a similar passport-like form factor as the foldable iPhone, went up by about 10% compared to the week before the Apple device was announced.
The Chosun cites sources from its local telecommunications industry as noting that this is caused by a couple of factors. One is, naturally, the high price that Apple commands for the iPhone Duo compared to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8. Comparing the 256GB storage models of the two, the Apple foldable is asking for over KRW 1 million (~RM2,940) more than the Samsung counterpart.
There’s also the absurdity of a 2TB model for the iPhone Duo and its KRW 5.09 million (~RM14,962). This is noted to be the first phone in the country to cost over KRW 5 million. It’s worth noting that the Fold8 does not come with that much storage capacity. For context, Apple has set the 256GB iPhone Duo at RM9,499, with the 2TB model costing RM15,499. To compare, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage launched at RM7,299.
Another factor that pushed Korean buyers towards Samsung is the wait time. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 is immediately available, while the iPhone Duo will only be available starting 23 October, just as it would in Malaysia.
Finally, there’s the actual dimensions of the device. The report cites industry insiders as speculating that despite the software differences, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 being both thinner and lighter than the iPhone Duo may have helped drive buyers towards the former. The former measures in at 9.7mm thick when unfolded and weighs 201g, while the latter comes in at 11.3mm and 254g.
One insider was quoted by the report as saying “the iPhone Duo’s feature of one screen dimming when opened, creating a sophisticated effect, is a classic ‘Apple-style design’ that compensates for hardware limitations with software. The hardware gap between Apple, which is releasing its first foldable, and Samsung, which has pioneered the market with multiple foldable models, is unsurprising”.
Tone of the quote aside, the report projects that the iPhone Duo will still ship up to six million units, resulting in about 25% market share. That would be an impressive number, considering Samsung, which has been around for so much longer, will only make up 38%.
@samsungnz You’ve seen Tim Cook unveil a phone before. Just never quite like this. Tim Cook, from Palmerston North, unboxes the GalaxyZFold8. #SwitchToGalaxy
On an only slightly related note, Samsung New Zealand has found another Tim Cook – from Palmerston North – to help promote its Galaxy Z Fold8. It’s certainly funnier than its US counterpart’s direct jabs, especially when the guy says “why would any Tim Cook go for anything else?”.
(Source: The Chosun, Samsung New Zealand / TikTok)