Apple at risk of losing 1 in 5 iPhone owners to a Samsung foldable phone

Samsung's foldable dominance is well established and Apple, one of the company's biggest rivals, is yet to enter this market. This delay could force many iPhone owners to jump ship and join Samsung's Galaxy.

A new survey finds that 1 in 5 iPhone owners have expressed willingness to switch to a Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Z Flip phone from Samsung.

SellCell recently conducted a survey with iPhone owners ahead of Apple's September 9 event where it will launch its new iPhones. One of the questions on the survey asked whether the respondents would switch to a foldable phone from Samsung or Google if Apple doesn't launch a foldable iPhone in 2026 or later.

Of the 2,012 people that responded, 20.1% or 1 in 5 iPhone owners, said that it's likely they'll buy a Samsung Galaxy foldable over an iPhone if Apple doesn't come out with a foldable iPhone. The percentage willing to shift away from an iPhone to a foldable was even larger when you include the 10.2% of respondents that chose Google's Pixel Fold.

This means that over 30% of current iPhone owners that participated in this survey are open to leave Apple and go with another brand's foldable phone. While Apple has enjoyed incredible brand loyalty from its customers, this shows that their patience may be running thin with Apple's lack of foldable options.

There have been a lot of rumors about Apple launching a foldable iPhone in the near future, and the perception is that perhaps we may finally see a foldable iPhone in 2026. If Apple decides to delay it beyond that, it runs the risk of potentially losing many of its customers to Samsung, which continues to take its foldable lineup from strength to strength every year.