What you need to know
- A report claims Samsung is toning down its foldable shipments in 2025 for the Flip 7/Fold 7 following an underwhelming Flip 6/Fold 6.
- The devices are rumored to see a total of 5 million units produced next year, with the Flip 7 making up ~3 million of them.
- Elsewhere, Samsung is rumored to put those resources into the S25 series as it may produce roughly 37.4 million units, a 7% increase from the S24.
- The S25 series is rumored to debut on January 22 at Unpacked.
Samsung is reportedly making changes to its mobile phone focus as we head into the new year.
A recent report by EtNews (Korean) claims Samsung will cut its number of produced foldable phones next year "significantly." The publication cites "industry sources" in stating that the 2024 models, the Z Flip 6 and Fold 6, underperformed after debuting this summer. The number of pre-orders for these models also saw a reduction if you were to compare the Flip 5/Fold 5 to today's devices.
The Korean OEM is still expected to move ahead with its foldables; however, the report states it might only produce 3 million Flip 7's and 2 million Fold 7's. Combined, this comes out to a total of 5 million 2025 foldable models which, according to the publication, it a ~3 million total reduction compared to 2024.
There must be balance and it seems that what Samsung takes away from its foldables will be placed into its slab phones, the Galaxy S25 series. The publication's sources claim the next series could see a ~7% increase in produced models. Samsung's "target shipment" is supposedly around 37.4 million S25 units, which contrasts with its previous 35 million goal for the S24.
Interestingly, the report highlights the highly anticipated Galaxy "S25 Slim," which could grab a whopping 3 million units.
While it seems like these rumors came from left field, an earlier report in July shed light on the Flip 6/Fold 6's underwhelming pre-order performance. The previous 5 series models were a smash hit as Samsung shattered records with those models, achieving a total of 1.02 million pre-ordered units. Fast-forward to 2024 and those numbers dipped to 910,000 foldable units in South Korea. The stats say it was a 10% drop, but the Flip 6 was still the most popular as it accounted for 60% of those totals.
Samsung's Head of Mobile, TM Roh, said shortly after Unpacked that he wanted to boost the company's foldable shipments by 10% in 2024. It seems that those ambitions were met by a rocky road, as rumors now point toward an overall reduction in 2025.
On the other hand, previous rumors state Samsung is going all in on the Galaxy S25 as it looks to top last year's success. These suspicions come from the company's "supply orders," which showed that it was looking to produce roughly 30 million S25 phones by the end of 2025. Rumors now are painting a slightly "better" picture than what was stated in October as those numbers have climbed by ~7 million units.
More importantly, 2025 could look very different for Samsung — and also Google. The struggling Flip 6 and Fold 6 are a standout, but also its "successful" Galaxy S24 — namely the S24 Plus — didn't really help its profits. Samsung Electronics' DS Division, Jeon Young-hyun did apologize publically for the company's lack of innovation and "vowed" to make changes moving forward.
Some leaked imagery might've clued us into the January 22 launch of the Galaxy S25 series.
