Samsung Shines As Foldable Mobile Phone And Tablet Market Skyrockets

CRN takes a look at the hottest entries from the Samsung Fold series, Microsoft and more.

What started as a mobile phone novelty has gained considerable momentum as foldable mobile phone sales reached 7.1 million units in 2021 (a jaw-dropping 264.3 percent increase from 2020), and market researcher IDC says the trend will continue, predicting mobile foldables hitting a market value of $29 billion in 2025.

Most of those gains have come from the success of Korean IT titan Samsung’s flagship foldables, including the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Fold 3. IDC says foldable devices remain a niche interest, taking a mere .5 percent of the worldwide mobile market in 2021. But the horse is officially out of the barn, so to speak – as IDC predicts a compound annual growth rate of 69.9 percent from 2020-2025 in foldable shipments.

“The recent success of the foldable devices from Samsung has given new life to the category as competitors rush to enter the market,” Anthony Scarsella, a research manager at IDC, said in a statement. “Samsung has proven that there is consumer demand for foldables… We have already witnessed other vendors launching new foldables this year, and we expect more players to attempt to take share away from Samsung as the form factor grows in popularity.

CRN takes a look at the top available foldable phones and other devices.

Galaxy Z Fold 3

Of course, first on the list needs to be the innovator in the foldable world: Samsung. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 stuns with its huge 7.6-inch internal display boasting a smooth 120Hz refresh rate. (It’s smaller external display refreshes at the same rate).

Specs-wise, the Fold 3 packs a punch with the zippy Snapdragon 888 processor, 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage and a respectable 4,400mAh dual battery.

On the optics front, Fold 3 dazzles with three 12-megapixel rear cameras, a 10-megapixel front-facing camera. But hold the phone: We’ve got a fair amount of innovation going on with a sneaky under-display hidden 4-megapixel selfie camera.

Other notable additions include S Pen support, and a side-mounted fingerprint reader. The Fold 3 can currently be had at around $1,499 – a hefty price tag that may be the reason this tech is staying niche for now.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Only Samsung could outdo itself in the foldable market as the Flip 3 outsold the Fold 3 with its attractive compact folded footprint featuring a 6.7-inch internal display. Notifications pop on the 1.9-inch external display.

Inside, you’ll find the same proven Snapdragon 888 processor, 8 gigabytes of ram and up to 256 gigabytes of storage.

The Flip features two 12-megapixel rear cameras and a 10-megapixel front-facing camera. Keeping the power running is a 3,300mAh battery. Security is handled with a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Going with the Flip over the Fold will ease the wallet pain with a $1,199 price point – still a premium but, hey, it’s still luxury tech at this point.

Motorola Razr 5G

Many of us may remember a time before iPhones when flip phones were king and the sleek Motorola Razr sat atop the throne. Launching in 2020, the revamped Razr 5G carried an air of nostalgia, folding much like the original - down to a svelte 14mm. But surface similarities end when you unfold the Razr to expose the large 6.2-inch, 21:9 display. A 2.7-inch external display allows you to keep track of notifications and offers some media control.

The 48-megapixel (yeah, you read that right) camera morphs into a front-facing selfie machine when folded.

The Razr is dressed to impress with specs as well, blazing along with the Snapdragon 765G chip, 8 gigabytes of RAM and 256 gigabytes of storage. The small but ample 2,800 mAh battery keeps the Razr’s lights on.

The Razr 5G is priced at $1,399.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2

A vast improvement over the original Surface Duo entry, Microsoft’s Surface Duo 2 bumps up the fire power with a Snapdragon 888 processor, 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.

The Surface Duo 2 only loses points on our list because it’s the only entry without a folding display. The two, 5.8-inch displays are instead attached via hinge, making it possible to use one side as a keyboard.

The Duo 2 has both rear- and front-facing camera – a feature conspicuously missing from its predecessor and a most welcome addition here. An impressive 4,449mAh powers the Duo 2.

Microsoft’s foldable entry is priced at what some might consider a painful $1,599.

Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

The Asus OLED Zenbook laptop only gets an honorable mention on our list because A) it’s a PC, not a mobile device and B) it won’t hit the market until later this year. But we’d be remiss not to include an important entry for this newer technology. And let’s face it, it’s just plain cool.

The 17-inch version will hit the market first, followed by a 14-inch version later in the year. The Zenbook Fold packs an impressive resolution of 2,560 x 1920 pixels and can be folded into clamshell mode to use with the detachable keyboard.

Inside, the Zenbook Fold will hum along with a choice of the new Intel Core i7 U-Series processor, up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Battery life should not be an issue, with a large 75Wh cell included.

Pricing is yet to be announced.