Samsung's foldable phones are hitting Apple where it hurts the most

Apple's dominance in the United States, its home country, has remained unchallenged for a very long time. That's despite the fact that Samsung continues to dominate in most other markets across the globe, enjoying higher market shares than Apple.

It's been a tough ride for Samsung to close the gap to its biggest rival in the United States, arguably one of the most important smartphone markets on the planet. However, Samsung's foldable phones are now delivering the impact the Korean giant required.

The latest market data from Canalys shows that Apple's US market share declined from 56% to 49% in the second quarter of this year. On the other hand, Samsung saw its US market share rise from 23% to 31% during the same period.

Samsung's new foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, have been an incredible hit in the country, even as their impact on the Q2 numbers was limited. The device has broken pre-order records and is well on its way to becoming Samsung's most successful foldable launch ever in the US.

Since Galaxy phones are available across different segments, including those where Apple has no presence, that has also helped the Korean manufacturer close the gap to its main rival, with its Galaxy A series doing particularly well to improve its market share.

The gap between these two global smartphone giants may come down even further as Samsung sells its new foldables in record numbers. Whether the new iPhones set to arrive next month do much to swing the tide back in Apple's favor remains to be seen.