The concept of a foldable phone only came into existence because of the flexible display. A few years ago, Samsung first showed that a flexible, foldable display exists, and from there, they wanted to show that they could make a phone using this display.
Therefore the Galaxy Fold came into existence not because of necessity but from engineering and technological demonstrations. Galaxy Fold is nothing but a proof of concept produced at a mass scale without customer demand.
Samsung Galaxy Fold is a failure because it’s too expensive, bulky, doesn’t provide any practical value to customers, is an engineering proof of concept, and nobody wants it except for a niche user base.
Galaxy Fold is Too Expensive:
Every new technology is expensive at the beginning. Over time, the price would lower for mass consumption. Galaxy Folds are the most costly uncustomized phone on the market right now. It’s 2x pricier than an expensive iPhone.
Except for an affluent buyer, no one would buy a Galaxy Fold. Even when the Galaxy Note was priced around the iPhone’s price, it wasn’t that famous worldwide compared to other Galaxy Phones or iPhones.
Galaxy Fold either is too early for the current generation or too pricey without noticeable user benefits for most people. Why would a current Samsung or iPhone user switch to Galaxy Fold? For now, the answer is unsatisfactory, but the transitional cost is extremely high without a noticeable advantage.
We define whether a movie is successful or not by measuring its box office business. Similarly, whether the Galaxy Fold is a success or not is determined by its business success. So far, it has failed to become a cash cow for Samsung, and there’s no indication that it’s going to change. Therefore, Samsung Galaxy Fold is not only a failure, it already failed, but Samsung didn’t discontinue the product line yet.
Samsung Fold Doesn’t Satisfy Customer Demand:
If a technology exists to create a product, it doesn’t mean that if a company makes a product using that technology, it will sell or become popular.
For example, using Unity, a developer can make a game. However, without a better story or if the game is not amusing, the game will fail on the App Store. Even if a producer hires a good director, actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, the movie they produce will still fail at the box office if it is not entertaining for the audience.
Before the announcement of the iPhone in 2007, the so-called smartphones were not smart enough. Those phones were not beautiful; typing was clumsy, internet browsing was not easy, and the app market was disorganized. Apple showed that a phone could be easy to use, can replace a pc to browse the internet or check email, can be used as an audio player, gaming device, GPS, and much more.
Tesla vehicles are popular not because they are electric or people care about the environment; Tesla vehicles are popular because they are fast, have self-driving technology, their in-car operating system is unmatched, and much more groundbreaking technology that is not available in a competitor’s vehicle.
Samsung Galaxy Fold and Z Flip phones don’t satisfy any customer demand unmet by slate phones. There always will be a niche market for every product. Similarly, Galaxy Fold and Z Flip will have a customer base who will enjoy these phones. However, the Galaxy Note series also was very popular among certain user groups. Still, after the failure of the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung entirely abandoned the Note phones.
Galaxy Fold and Z Flip phones don’t do anything special extra to make a user’s life easier. It’s only a cool product. Most phone users will not purchase a Galaxy Fold because they don’t need one. A traditional touch screen phone is sufficient for most people. It’s why Galaxy Fold and Flip is not only a failure, it will fail, and Samsung will discontinue them in the future.
User Base:
People generally don’t like to change their behavior unless the new behavior vastly improves their lifestyle. Moreover, people are inherently tribalistic.
An iPhone user would buy a new iPhone, a Ford truck driver would buy another Ford truck, and a Samsung phone user generally buys another Samsung phone or another Android phone, at least.
Galaxy Fold and Z Flip phones are premium phones. The price is even 2x higher than an iPhone. Generally, it’s predictable that an iPhone user would not switch to the Galaxy Fold except for a few. Therefore, only the rich who are already familiar with Samsung phones would purchase a Z Flip or Fold. Therefore, only a niche community would buy this phone.
Without extensive popularity, these products are bound to fail. Moreover, if it is not already selling, it means Galaxy Fold is a failure.
Less Functionality:
When the first iPhones and Android phones started to come into the market, these smartphones could do many things that traditional BlackBerry and Nokia phones could not do. Because of many valuable and practical functionalities, Android-based phones and iOS-based iPhones became popular.
However, the Galaxy Fold does not bring significant functionality over traditional smartphones. Its only benefit is that its screen is foldable and, when unfolded, has a tablet-like screen. Other than this, Galaxy Fold or Z Flip doesn’t do anything extra that an iPhone or other Galaxy phones can’t do.
Galaxy Fold is an engineering achievement. Samsung deserves credit for it. However, it doesn’t bring anything new for a customer.
Bulky Phone:
Galaxy Fold is a bulky phone when folded. The key benefit of having a Galaxy Fold is a bigger screen like a tablet. However, not every user craves a big screen similar to a Galaxy Fold. Therefore, for a phone, it’s bulky.
Moreover, the Galaxy Fold has two screens, and the display consumes a lot of power; thus, the battery life is not satisfactory.
Even though Samsung still makes and sells Galaxy Fold and Z Flip phones, it’s not that popular worldwide. It’s even less popular than the defunct Galaxy Note series.
Samsung Galaxy is nothing but a failed product.
