The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are the newest handsets in Samsung's line of foldable smartphones, which were launched earlier this month. The new handsets perfect the formula and provide a further layer of polish through iterative upgrades, but who are they actually for?
Samsung’s glossy launch event might have implied these are mainstream consumer devices, but with starting price points of $1,899/£1,699 and $999/£999, not so. The Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 are more likely to be carried by two different user types: enthusiasts and professionals.
Samsung highlighted the new products, especially the Fold, were created with business use cases in mind in an email conversation with TechRadar Pro. The goal was to provide professionals with the best multitasking tool when they were on the go in light of the widespread transition to hybrid working.
We are giving people a smart, powerful, long-lasting mobile device that flexes with their future working needs with our fourth generation foldables product. This device is designed for today's hybrid employees, from security to always-on service support, significant partnership integration, and unmatched connectivity, according to Joe Walsh, Director of B2B, Samsung UK and Ireland.
"Our brand-new Galaxy Z Fold 4 offers a brand-new mobile experience that's focused on our users and built for the modern day. This robust tablet offers customers a wide variety of innovative business-focused features and services, all while being supported by defense-grade security, making it ideal for secure mobile working.
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Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 from Samsung
Walsh was confident about the direction of the foldables market when TechRadar Pro last spoke with him, following the release of the previous generation of devices, despite concerns about the form factor's long-term viability.
At the time, he remarked, "We are convinced that the foldable form factor is now approaching the mainstream. It marks another advance in smartphone design."
Walsh is still optimistic about Samsung's Fold and Flip series smartphones one year later, encouraged by sales data that suggests the trend toward foldables is still gaining steam.
The modern workplace is evolving, whether employees work from home, at an office, or while travelling. Professionals want greater independence and flexibility to complete their work how it best suits them, he said.
"Our consumer base is already moving more and more toward foldables," said the rep. According to industry estimates, 10 million foldable smartphones were shipped globally in 2016. That represents a rise in the industry of more than 300% from 2020.
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Walsh credits features that are closely aligned with contemporary business practises, such as strong processors, extensive screen real estate, and high degrees of portability, for the rise in popularity of Samsung's foldables.
Additionally, he pointed out the seamless connection between Samsung DeX and Microsoft Teams, a collaboration platform that enables users to easily connect their smartphones to work monitors.
When asked how Samsung plans to increase usage in professional settings, Walsh responded that the company will rely on the strength of its product ecosystem, which includes gadgets like the Galaxy Book2 Business and a number of tough smartphones.
"Nearly half of our foldable enthusiasts already own at least one ecosystem product, so we are aware that many of them are devoted Samsung customers. For this reason, no matter what life throws at them, we've developed an ecosystem that syncs flawlessly across devices," he stated.
Samsung has taken the lead in a trend that could end up being transformative, even though foldable smartphones will continue to be a tiny part of the larger smartphone ecosystem for some time to come.
Costs will inevitably decrease as the technology develops, making foldables more accessible to a larger market. Samsung, though, has the corporate sector in its sights for the time being.
Check out our ranking of the top business tablets currently on the market as well.
