Samsung reviewing plan to launch foldable phones up to 3 weeks earlier

Samsung is reviewing a plan to launch its new foldable phones two to three weeks earlier than initially planned, TheElec has learned.

The tech giant is currently planning to launch Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 smartphones in the second week of August through an Unpacked event.

But the company is worried about its earnings in the second quarter, which is traditionally a weak season for smartphones.

During the first quarter, its Galaxy S23 Series sold only slightly more than it expected while Samsung pushed to sell its remaining inventory for low- to mid-end phones, sources said.

So launching foldable phones in July will allow Samsung to post a stronger third quarter, which will someone offset two straight quarters of poor earnings.

However, this means Samsung will also need to find a solution for the fourth quarter when Fold 5 and Flip 5 sales will slow down, but sources said the company believes a strong third quarter is more important for now for its mobile business.

Samsung will need to secure the reliability of Fold 5 and Flip 5 within this month to launch them in July.

Some component production plans have already been fast-forwarded by two to three weeks in anticipation of this plan being signed off but other components are still stuck in their original plan for an August launch.

Samsung recorded its lowest operating profit in 14 years for the first quarter from the chip downturn and its second-quarter performance is also expected to be poor.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to push the water drop hinge and weight drop of its new foldable phones in marketing.

It is aiming for Fold 5 to weigh 254 gram, 8 grams lower than Fold 4’s 263 grams. The hinge is also expected to become thinner from 15.8mm to 14mm.

For the Flip 5, the company is planning an outer screen size of 3.38 inches, much larger than Flip 4’s 1.9-inch.