Samsung is the largest Android manufacturer globally, and it is in a dominant position in the U.S., where it outsells its nearest rival by a sizeable margin. With the brand effectively unchallenged in the region, there really isn't any need to innovate or come up with differentiated products, so Samsung has been churning out the same phone year over year for the better part of three years.
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda delves into all things hardware, including phones, audio products, storage servers, and routers.
This is the case with its latest foldables; the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 don't have any meaningful hardware upgrades outside of IP48 ingress protection, and they're identical to their predecessors — which were similarly identical to their predecessors, and so on. And because Samsung is inherently aware of the fact that it has no rivals, both devices get a $100 price hike.
The U.S. market routinely misses out on the best Android phones, but there's at least some variety in this area. With foldables, that gulf is clearly noticeable — Chinese manufacturers are constantly pushing the boundaries in this segment, and all of the 2024 foldables I've used thus far have been nothing short of incredible.
But these brands don't have any presence in the U.S., the one region where foldables are actually selling well. That leaves potential foldable customers locked into Samsung's orbit of indifference, and based on what I've seen of the new launches, that trajectory is firmly pointed toward mediocrity.
Samsung can get away with this because it knows there really isn't another alternative in the U.S. There are standout foldables available today — Honor's Magic V2 and Vivo X Fold 3 Pro immediately come to mind — but these devices aren't coming to the U.S. Even with foldables that are sold officially in the country, like the OnePlus Open, you can only buy it unlocked at OnePlus and Amazon, and without any carrier backing, the device doesn't move the needle in any measurable way.
It's not just the foldables either; Samsung introduced the Galaxy Watch Ultra — which is a blatant copy of Apple's Watch Ultra — and the Buds 3 Pro eschewed their original design to mimic AirPods. The only new product I was interested in was the Galaxy Ring, but Samsung somehow found a way to hobble that — the smart ring only works with Samsung phones, so if you have an Android device from any other manufacturer, it will not connect to it.
This decision runs counter to the fundamental openness of Android, and it's clear at this point that Samsung has lost its ability to innovate. As the largest Android manufacturer, Samsung is in a unique position to affect change in the industry, and I've often pointed out that it needs to take that responsibility seriously. But now, it's evident that all Samsung wants to do is consolidate its position and rehash the same product lines, safe in the knowledge that it doesn't have any meaningful rivals.
