Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Samsung’s shifting output targets for 2025 will reportedly favor traditional flagships over foldables.
- Rather than the 8.2 million target for the Fold 6 and Flip 6, next year’s models may only ship some 5 million units.
- Samsung’s reportedly looking to optimize profit instead of focusing on volume.
There’s little denying that foldable smartphones are slick as hell, and they’ve already come an incredibly long way. While just a few years ago they felt like fantastical concept devices that were just too impractical to exist commercially, manufacturers like Samsung have proven that there’s absolutely a market for these boundary-pushing handsets. But now a new report suggests that this market may be drying up a little, as Samsung scales back its plans for next year’s folding models.
Maybe shoppers are just feeling a little burnt out on slight tweaks to older designs, or craving the wave of dual-folding screens, but we had already heard about Galaxy Z Fold 6 sales underperforming estimates. And while the thinner Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition sales sounded a lot more promising, even that may not be enough to convince Samsung of the market’s level of interest in yet another iteration of Fold and Flip models. Now a new report from South Korea’s ET News claims that the manufacturer is planning to shift its production balance towards more Galaxy S phones and fewer Galaxy Z foldables.
Attributing these targets to industry sources, the outlet reports that Samsung is dialing back its shipping targets for the Flip 7 and Fold 7 from the 8.2 million it had set for this year’s models to a mere 5 million. Meanwhile, its Galaxy S25 target is reportedly up to 37.5 million units, a modest push forward from the S24’s 35 million.
While Samsung’s overall targets may be down slightly in 2025 compared to this year, there’s still room to be surprised by some big hits, like we could get from new models like the rumored Galaxy S25 Slim. Considering the excitement we saw about the thinner Z Fold Special Edition, a more affordable flagship with similar appeal could really take off, and Samsung is apparently expecting to ship some 3 million units of this handset.
Right now, we’re just looking forward to getting Samsung’s 2025 story started with Galaxy Unpacked. While the company hasn’t shared any official announcement just yet, rumors have suggested we’ll be getting a look at the new S25 hardware on January 22.