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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Samsung has unveiled a highly anticipated smartphone with a foldable screen in order to break the funk of innovation that characterizes the smartphone market.
But it's far from clear that consumers will adopt a device priced at nearly $ 2,000, or that it will be the creative catalyst that the smartphone market needs.
The Galaxy Fold, announced Wednesday in San Francisco, will sell for $ 1,980 when released April 26.
Consumers willing to pay this high price will get a device that can be deployed like a wallet. It can work as a traditional smartphone with a 4.6-inch screen or turn into a mini-tablet with a 7.3-inch screen.
Once fully deployed, the device will be able to simultaneously run three different applications on the screen. The Galaxy Fold will also feature six cameras: three in the back, two in the interior and one in the front.
After spending nearly five years developing the technology behind its folding-screen phone, Samsung is clearly hoping for big profits.
"Prepare for the dawn of a new era," said DJ Koh, who oversees Samsung's smartphone division. The new phone, he said, "responds to skeptics who said everything had already been done."
If Samsung is right, the Galaxy Fold will encourage more people to upgrade their phones. Global smartphone sales peaked in 2017; Samsung saw its smartphone sales fall 8% last year, according to estimates by the International Data Corp. research company. Worldwide, smartphone sales have dropped 4% in 2018, according to IDC.
But most analysts see a limited market for folding-screen phones, at least in the beginning. Phones like the Galaxy Fold "are likely to sell to a very limited market of technology enthusiasts who love big screens and who have a large wallet," said IDC analyst Ramon. Llamas.
Although he also thinks that the Galaxy Fold is more of a "status symbol" than a traditional product, Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said that this device was symbolically important to Samsung, the biggest smartphone seller in the world. "The Fold was the icing on the cake by showing that Samsung is the company that generates the innovations and excitement for the market," said Moorhead.
There is no doubt that the Galaxy Fold is a "luxury technology," acknowledged Justin Denison, senior vice president of Samsung, during an interview. But he also predicted that the advent of foldable screens would unleash new uses for mobile devices. "It's a technological marvel," Denison said. "The first time you see a flexible screen, it makes you lose your head."
Samsung has also released new Galaxy S10 phones that echo the features of other recent models. Each device in the S10 range is equipped with sophisticated cameras, stylish displays covering the entire front of the devices and at least 128 gigabytes of storage, important features for consumers who buy phones.
The new phones are able to take wider-angle shots than previous models and can charge other devices, including wireless headphones and smartwatches. A fourth S10 model, due out this spring, will deliver faster wireless speeds thanks to the emerging 5G cellular network.
But these improvements are not a big step forward compared to smartphones marketed in recent years by Samsung, Apple and other major manufacturers.
"These phones are all variations on a theme we've already seen," said Llamas. "It's the same song with a slightly different verse."
While the pace of smartphone innovation seems to be sluggish, consumers are retaining their existing devices longer than in the past. This reluctance to upgrade is exacerbated by the shock of smartphone stickers, which the Galaxy Fold does not seem able to mitigate. Prices for some existing phone models have exceeded $ 1,000.
Samsung is offering a slightly smaller S10 model at $ 750 to try to make smartphones more affordable, but high-end models are selling for between $ 900 and $ 1,000. This is the second time in five months that a major smartphone maker is positioning a $ 750 phone as a thrifty option. Apple has also evaluated its new cheapest phone, the iPhone XR, released last fall, at $ 750. Smartphone manufacturers that are gaining market share, including the Chinese Huawei and Xiaomi, are manufacturing smartphones selling at $ 500 or less, as well as high-end models.
Two of Samsung's new models, the S10 and S10 Plus, are largely incremental upgrades to the S9 and S9 Plus models last year, although they were designed differently. They are about the same size as last year 's models, but will have more display space because Samsung has found new ways to eliminate waste. As a by-product, the top right of the screen has a circle or oval for the front cameras.
The cheapest "essential" model, the S10e, has most of the same features, but is 5% smaller than the S10 in volume. The S10e also lacks curved edges, characteristic of many Samsung phones.
The three S10 models will be available from March 8th. Pre-orders will begin Thursday.
Samsung has announced its 10th anniversary in anticipation of a major conference on mobile devices in Barcelona next week. Huawei, which threatens to overtake Apple as the world's second largest smartphone vendor, has promised to use Spain's showcase to present its own device with a foldable screen and the ability to connect to 5G networks as soon as possible. their commissioning in the coming years. .
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Jesdanun reported from New York.
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