Samsung May Strengthen Its Foldable Lead with Galaxy Z Fold 7

While the foldable market remains a niche segment, competition has heated up in recent years. However, Samsung is still holding a strong position thanks to its early entry into this space. Now, with the newly released Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Korean firm may further widen the gap with competitors, mainly considering early strong responses around the world.

Samsung continues to dominate the European foldable segment despite rising competition

According to data from Counterpoint Research, Samsung remains the leader of the book-type foldable segment in Europe. In 2024, Samsung accounted for 50% of book-type foldable sales in the region. This is despite increasing competition from brands like HONOR, Google, and TECNO. The Korean firm’s share of Fold model sales was 98% in 2022 and 73% in 2023.

While Samsung has been losing ground each year, it is still ahead of competitors by a considerable margin. Meanwhile, its rival HONOR saw significant growth thanks to its Magic V2 and V3 models. Its sales share reached 34% in 2024, a significant boost from 11% in the previous year. Likewise, Google and Oppo held 9% and 4% shares, respectively, slowly catching up in the market.

The research firm said, “Although it was still leading the market, the future looked ominous for Samsung, as it was seemingly struggling to make any major improvements to its Galaxy Fold range.” However, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7 changes that narrative. With its thinner profile, solid performance, advanced camera, and improved durability, the new Fold arrives as the most advanced foldable to date.

The phone measures just 8.9 mm when folded, a whopping 48% thinner compared to the original Galaxy Fold from 2019. Samsung powers the device with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, the same as the rest of the S25 lineup. It borrows a 200MP main camera from Galaxy S25 Ultra for pro-grade photography.

Meanwhile, HONOR is also gearing up to introduce its latest Magic V5 in Europe on August 28. Similarly, Google will debut its Pixel 10 Pro Fold today. So, consumers will have a lot of alternatives when it comes to foldable smartphones. It will be interesting to see how the foldable market shapes up in the future.