Alert, Galaxy A54 and Galaxy S23 series deals available! | Follow SamMobile on Google News now!

SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission. Learn more.

Picking the right foldable hinge isn’t easy for Samsung

Phone
By 

Last updated: January 17th, 2023 at 13:56 UTC+01:00

The foldable smartphone market is growing steadily, and market research firm TrendForce estimates that OEMs will ship a combined 18.5 million foldable phones this year, up from 12.8 million in 2022. Samsung has an 82% market share and will maintain the lead in 2023. The company will also continue to dictate the tone of foldable hinge designs in 2023 and may continue to develop U-shaped hinges for several reasons.

The foldable phone hinge market has become huge, and market watchers estimate that the value of this segment will increase by 14.6% year-on-year to exceed $500 million in 2023. Given Samsung’s popularity in the foldable phone segment, the company will shape the future of hinge designs.

At present, the foldable hinge market is split into two categories: U-shaped and teardrop-shaped. These designations are based on the shape of the foldable display above the hinge when the device is folded shut. A U-shaped hinge (like the one used by the Galaxy Z Fold series) creates a gap between the two folding halves. The teardrop hinge doesn’t have this issue, but it has the disadvantage of a higher cost.

According to another recent report, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 will adopt a teardrop hinge and thus become thinner in the process, all the while eliminating the space between the two folding halves of the phone. Nevertheless, TrendForce estimates that Samsung is not yet ready to give up on the existing U-shaped hinge entirely. And there seem to be good reasons for this.

Making foldable phones more affordable is Samsung’s top priority

Foldable phones that exist in a vacuum and don’t get purchased by customers are essentially vaporware. They’re nice to look at and report on, but they don’t actually bring any value to the foldable phone market and prospective customers.

And the reality of the situation is that U-shaped hinges are more affordable than teardrop-shaped hinges. Affordability is one of the main aspects Samsung is has tried to improve for its foldable phones for the past few years, because if nobody buys foldables, then the whole segment is in big trouble.

With that in mind, Samsung may switch to a teardrop-shaped hinge for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (its true foldable flagship), but it may continue using the U-shaped hinge for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 to maintain low costs and profitability. Market watchers believe that Samsung is trying to maintain a healthy profit margin and make foldable phones more popular while capturing a large slice of the entry-level segment.

Or in other words, the company could easily switch to a teardrop-shaped hinge across its entire foldable lineup, but there are great risks to doing so. Although this switch would look good in the eyes of the media and in marketing materials, this approach would increase prices, hurt sales, and ultimately decrease the popularity of foldable phones globally.

Analysts believe that Samsung is trying to walk a fine line between cutting-edge technology and affordability, and this strategy appears to have worked so far. The company holds the biggest slice of the foldable market, after all.

In addition, market watchers estimate that Samsung will try to add more hinge manufacturers to its chain this year, in addition to KH Vatech and S-connect, hoping to lower prices and diversify its supply chain. Samsung is also trying to decrease costs by cutting down the number of hinge parts and through Tier-2 outsourcing.

Phone Galaxy Z Flip 5Galaxy Z Fold 5
Load 0 comments

You might also like

OnePlus’ super-thin foldable phone will challenge Galaxy Z Fold 5

OnePlus’ super-thin foldable phone will challenge Galaxy Z Fold 5

Samsung is starting to get some competition from other Android brands in the foldable smartphone segment. Huawei, OPPO, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi have already launched their foldable smartphones, undercutting Samsung’s Galaxy Z lineup. One more Chinese Android smartphone brand—OnePlus—is preparing to bring a rival to the Galaxy Z Fold 5. According to Chinese tipster Digital […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 2 days ago
Galaxy Z Flip 5 will enhance your selfie game with bigger cover display

Galaxy Z Flip 5 will enhance your selfie game with bigger cover display

A few days ago, it was reported that Samsung would one-up its rivals Motorola and OPPO by offering a much bigger cover display on its upcoming Galaxy Z Flip smartphone. Some design concepts of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 were published, revealing how the smartphone might look. It showcased a dual-screen setup on the outside. […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 2 days ago
Huawei oversells unrealistically thin Mate X3 bezels, pushes proprietary memory cards

Huawei oversells unrealistically thin Mate X3 bezels, pushes proprietary memory cards

Huawei announced that its latest attempt at rivaling the Galaxy Z Fold series is coming to China this week. Indeed, the Huawei Mate X3 was just announced in China today, and the initial impressions are positive, in that the phone seems to tick many right boxes required by a Z Fold contender. However, it’s also […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 5 days ago
Take a look at Galaxy Z Fold 5’s super-sleek design concept

Take a look at Galaxy Z Fold 5’s super-sleek design concept

Now that all the hype around the Galaxy S23 launch has lowered, it’s time for some spicy leaks of Samsung’s upcoming foldable phones: Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5. The Galaxy Z Flip 5’s design concept was published yesterday. Today, concept images of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 have been revealed. Galaxy […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 6 days ago
Galaxy Z Fold 5 isn’t changing much on the outside

Galaxy Z Fold 5 isn’t changing much on the outside

While the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is getting a massive makeover, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 isn’t changing much compared to its predecessor, at least according to a new report. Samsung’s next-generation flagship foldable phone will come with updated internals and hardware, but it could continue using a design similar to the Galaxy Z Fold […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 1 week ago
Galaxy Z Flip 5 to come with a massive cover display

Galaxy Z Flip 5 to come with a massive cover display

We are less than six months away from the official unveiling of Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy Z series devices. The company is expected to announce the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5 sometime in August or September of this year, but their features and design traits are already being revealed. A new […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 1 week ago