Samsung is pushing the launch of its new foldable smartphone

We can already imagine them on barges, going down the Seine, greeting the spectators gathered on the quays, taking selfies and videos galore. About 7,000 international athletes will parade on July 26 opening ceremony of the Olympics and many will have a new toy to immortalize the event.

A week before D-Day, Samsung is the global partner of the games, will be giving them the brand’s latest foldable smartphone, the Z Flip6, which launched this Wednesday morning in Paris. “We will provide a smartphone to each of the 10,500 Olympic athletes and 4,000 Paralympic athletes,” explains François Hernandez, Vice President and Director of Mobility, Samsung France. We will give them a detailed introduction and tell them that of course they can use it fully during the ceremony to post videos and photos on social networks! »

Indifference to competitors

For Samsung, there is no question of hunting future athletes with a competing smartphone. But the message will be sent by the Olympic partner. Korea’s new ‘foldable’ film should benefit from impressive media coverage with an expected 1.5 billion viewers.

“You have to imagine thousands of athletes showing off the Korean foldable smartphone!” says Renaud Kayanakis, telecom specialist at Sia Partners. For Samsung to be located in the photo capital of Paris is a huge shame for its competitors Huawei and so on apple. »

Because if Samsung is the leader in folding devices with more than 90% market share in France, other manufacturers – notably Motorola or Honor – are making increasingly successful attempts. Apple has also been rumored to be working on a foldable iPhone and iPad for several months. A few steps ahead of the first model launched ten years ago, it is urgent for Samsung to take advantage of the Olympics to drive home this point and show itself in the eyes of customers around the world.

“We usually launch new products in late July or early August,” we explain internally. We have moved the date forward to be part of the event. For us, folding devices are a growing market: three years ago, they accounted for about 7% of Samsung’s turnover in high-end models. Now we are at 20%. And we expect to reach 50% within three years. »

Aim for the youngest

The main target: the youngest consumers. And this summer, the desire to scrutinize Olympic Games In the latest generation of smartphones, more than one customer can enter Samsung, the number one smartphone seller in France.

“The retention rate of customers who choose the brand is very high, and therefore it is important to immediately look for young people so that they can join our world,” said Francois Hernandez, without giving figures. attracting new customers who are fans of other manufacturers. »

Because apart from the innovative design of foldable mobile phones – the Z Flip6 unfolds vertically like a compact and the Z Fold6 opens horizontally like a book – they above all enable new uses. Need instant translation? Just fold the device, speak in one language on one hand so that the translation written in the language of the interlocutor appears on the back screen. Want to take a selfie? The folded smartphone is very easy to place, its camera will then automatically adjust the image size to fit the needs.

But you’ll have to pay the price to buy these latest mobiles: €1,199 for the Z Flip6 (256GB) and €1,999 for the Z Fold6 (256GB), slightly more than the previous generation.

Noting that consumers are spending more and more money on smartphones (550 euros on average, or 115 euros more than in 2021), there is nothing to worry about for the manufacturer. Therefore, we must deceive them at any cost. Samsung remains confident and expects the Z Flip6 to increase sales by 30% compared to the release of the previous model. Olympic start!

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