Samsung unveils wider foldable phone, hikes prices as chip costs rise

By Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL, July 22 (Reuters) - ‌Samsung Electronics on ​Wednesday unveiled ​a passport-sized foldable phone and raised prices of two updated foldable models, as it grapples with rising memory chip prices while bracing for a ‌new threat from Apple in the niche but growing segment.

The South Korean ⁠technology company pioneered foldable smartphones but its dominance is set to be challenged by Apple which analysts expect ‌this year to launch a ‌foldable phone with a screen similar in size to an iPad mini.

"Strategically, this is one of Samsung's most important foldable launches," said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at researcher ​IDC. "Samsung has to defend the category it created, and that's why it cannot play it safe."

Samsung unveiled the three Galaxy Z foldable models powered by Alphabet's Gemini artificial ⁠intelligence at an event in London.

It priced its passport-sized Galaxy Z Fold8, featuring a wider screen aimed at video-heavy users, ​at $1,899. It raised its premium Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and clamshell-style Flip8 by $100 from their predecessors to $2,099 and $1,199 respectively.

Samsung is likely to ​increase its global smartphone market share in 2026 though ‌the overall market is set to contract a record 14% due partly to a memory chip shortage, IDC forecast. Foldable shipments, on the ⁠other hand, are likely to grow 20%, IDC said.

Some analysts expect Samsung's mobile division to post its first-ever quarterly loss in April-June as surging chip prices squeeze profit margins, even as they ⁠fatten margins at Samsung's semiconductor business to record highs.

Memory and storage account for more than 60% of ​material costs in budget smartphones and more than 30% in premium models, Omdia data showed.

"Memory is a much smaller share of the bill of materials on a device above $1,500 than on a mid-range phone, ‌so there is more room to absorb (higher chip prices) at the top-end," said Omdia senior analyst Sheng Win Chow.

"The harder question is ‌what justifies the price. A bigger screen alone is no longer enough," he said.

In terms of ⁠processing power, the Fold8 and Fold8 ‌Ultra use the latest processor ​from Qualcomm while the Flip8 uses a Qualcomm chip or Samsung's Exynos chip depending on market.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Miyoung Kim and ‌Christopher Cushing)

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