What you need to know
- Samsung is reportedly planning to launch four new foldable phones next year.
- While two of them will be variants of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 successor, the other two will be clamshell devices.
- All four foldables are tipped to be launched in the second half of 2021.
It was recently rumored that Samsung is working on three foldable phones for 2021, including its first "budget" foldable. According to a new report from ETNews, however, Samsung actually plans to launch four foldable devices next year.
As per the report, Samsung will be releasing two Galaxy Z Fold 3 models and two clamshell foldables to succeed the Galaxy Z Flip in 2021. Unfortunately, this could mean that we won't be seeing any new foldable form factor from Samsung until 2022 at the earliest. Industry sources also suggest Samsung has no plans of launching a rollable phone in 2021. So far, only LG has confirmed plans of releasing a rollable phone next year.
Samsung will apparently begin manufacturing the foldable phones in August next year, so it is possible that they will go on sale globally before the end of September. The report also reconfirms that Samsung plans to replace the Note series with its foldable lineup in 2021. However, only the "high-end" successor to the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is expected to come with an S Pen. As for the Galaxy Z Flip 2 models, the report says they will have "different performance and features."
While Samsung is currently the only major player in the foldable space globally, it is expected to face strong competition from other Android OEMs next year. Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo are all rumored to launch their first foldable phones next year.
