Samsung could be aiming for much higher foldable shipments in 2022

Eric Zeman / Android Authority

TL;DR

• Samsung is reportedly aiming for much higher foldable phone shipments in 2022.
• It’s claimed that 9.8 million fourth-generation foldables could be produced next year.

Samsung has been the market leader in the foldable phone space for a while now, dating back to the original Galaxy Fold and first-generation Galaxy Z Flip. And the company is seeing even more success with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3.

It sounds like Samsung has loftier goals for 2022 though, as Korean-based publication The Elec reports that the manufacturer is aiming to step up production of its 2022 foldables.

More specifically, it’s claimed that Samsung plans to produce 2.9 million Galaxy Z Fold 4 units and 6.9 million Galaxy Z Flip 4 phones from the third quarter of 2022 (a total of 9.8 million units). The Elec cited Samsung’s internal 2022 shipment plan for the information.

How does this compare to today’s foldables?

The outlet previously reported that Samsung aimed to ship between six and seven million foldables this year. It was believed that 2.5 to three million Z Fold 3 devices were set to be produced as well as 3.5 to four million Z Flip 3 units.

In other words, the total shipment volume for 2022 would be significantly higher than 2021 if all of these figures are indeed accurate. But what’s interesting is that the increase seems to be coming from the Galaxy Z Flip 4 model alone, with almost double the apparent projected volume for 2022 compared to the reported Z Flip 3 figures.

Related: Galaxy Z Fold 3 second-opinion review — Big steps forward, small steps behind

Then again, the outlet claimed that Samsung’s foldable phone shipments in 2020 amounted to 2.5 million units or 60% of the original target (4.5 to five million units). So it’s still possible that the firm’s 2022 shipment target doesn’t translate into real-world results.

Another interesting claim in the report is that the Galaxy S22 FE will also be mass-produced from Q3 2022 and released in the same quarter. It’s believed that Samsung aims to ship 5.7 million units. Here’s hoping the device is actually released on time and isn’t too seriously affected by the global chip shortage.

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