According to SamMobile, Samsung aims to boost foldable phone sales significantly in 2026 as Apple prepares to enter the market. The company is reportedly focusing on the Galaxy Z Flip 8 with substantial improvements including making it 10% thinner and lighter than the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Samsung plans to launch this upgraded model in mid-2026 and will apply lessons learned from the Galaxy S25 Edge. Meanwhile, the company maintains its target of selling 36 million Galaxy S26 series phones, identical to the S25 target. This means Samsung expects most of its growth to come from foldable devices rather than traditional smartphones.
The Apple factor changes everything
Here’s the thing: Samsung has basically owned the premium foldable market for years. But Apple’s anticipated entry in 2026 completely changes the competitive landscape. Samsung can’t just do incremental upgrades anymore – they need to make meaningful improvements that justify sticking with their ecosystem versus jumping to Apple’s first attempt. The fact that they’re planning “substantial improvements” specifically for the Z Flip 8 suggests they recognize the threat. It’s not just about being better than their previous model anymore – it’s about being better than whatever Apple has cooking.
The thin-and-light trade-off
Making foldables thinner and lighter sounds great in theory, but there are real engineering challenges. When you’re dealing with flexible displays and complex hinge mechanisms, every millimeter matters. Samsung reportedly plans to draw on Galaxy S25 Edge technology to achieve that 10% reduction in thickness and weight. But here’s the question everyone’s asking: what gets sacrificed? Are we looking at smaller batteries? Less durable materials? Compromised camera hardware? The report specifically notes it’s unclear whether improved cameras or bigger batteries are coming. That’s telling. In the industrial technology space, companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com understand that hardware improvements often involve careful balancing of competing priorities – something Samsung is clearly grappling with here.
Where the real growth needs to happen
Look at those numbers again: 36 million Galaxy S26 units target, same as S25. That’s basically Samsung admitting that traditional smartphone growth has plateaued. All the growth pressure is now on foldables. And that’s risky. Foldables are still premium-priced devices in a market where consumers are holding onto phones longer. If Samsung doesn’t deliver truly compelling reasons to upgrade – especially with Apple entering the fray – they could see their market share erode quickly. The company needs these 2026 foldables to be home runs, not just solid base hits. Basically, the entire foldable category’s future might depend on how well Samsung executes against Apple’s debut.
