After A Quarter: Samsung Halts Flagship Smartphone Sale
After just three months on the market, Samsung is discontinuing sales of its flagship smartphone. What is the reason for the quick end? And what are the consequences for buyers of this flagship smartphone?
Samsung unveiled a truly unique smartphone at this year’s CES in Las Vegas: The Galaxy Z TriFold. This is the first folding smartphone that can be used as a tablet when fully opened. The smartphone will unfold twice, providing a 10-inch display in the classic 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the almost square displays of other foldables.
Samsung Discontinues TriFold Sales
But after just three months, Samsung is now stopping sales of the unique foldable smartphone. What happened? The Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold was never intended to be a mass product. With an asking price of $2,899 and limited availability in the USA and South Korea only, the smartphone was more of a technological showpiece and a first attempt at this form factor.
Samsung already ended sales in its home country of South Korea. The smartphone had been available here since December 12. Samsung only started selling the smartphone in the USA in January, where it is still available. However, if you want to buy this unique smartphone, you have to be quick. According to a company spokesperson, only the remaining stock will be sold before sales of it will be discontinued.
Will There Be a Successor?
Was the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold a flop? Even if Samsung does not reveal any official sales figures, it doesn’t look like it. However, production of this smartphone is a complex and expensive affair. It is therefore questionable whether Samsung made any profit with this smartphone model despite the high price.
In an interview, Won-Joon Choi, Chief Operating Officer at Samsung, explained how the company has remained undecided on whether there will be a successor to the Galaxy Z TriFold due to the complex manufacturing process. However, some of the main advantages of the device, such as the ideal screen format for media consumption, could eventually find their way into Samsung’s regular foldables.
However, buyers of the Galaxy Z TriFold need not worry about device support ending. As with its other high-end smartphones, Samsung guarantees 7 years of software and security updates for the TriFold and intends to continue this even after its sales end.
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