For seven years, Samsung built the foldable phone market largely alone, coaxing skeptics and loyalists alike toward a new way of holding the future. Now, as Apple steps into that space under new CEO John Ternus, the South Korean pioneer finds itself in a familiar human predicament: having created something worth wanting, it must now defend it from the very validation its success invited. The 1.6x surge in iPhone users switching to the Galaxy Z Fold8 suggests Samsung's window of opportunity is open — the deeper question is how long it remains so.
Samsung accelerates iPhone poaching as Apple enters foldable market
Samsung is racing to lock in iPhone users before Apple reshapes the market
Mark
So Samsung is saying more iPhone users are switching to its foldables. What's actually driving that number—is it the foldable technology itself, or just Samsung's marketing?
Mimi
Both, probably. The data shows 30 percent of Flip8 buyers came from other brands, and most were buying a foldable for the first time. So it's not brand switching—it's category switching. People are curious about the form factor.
Luke
But we should be careful here. That 1.6x figure is comparing the Fold8 to the Fold7 and Flip7. We don't know the absolute numbers. Is Samsung going from 100 switchers to 160, or from 10,000 to 16,000? The ratio sounds impressive, but the base matters.
Mark
Fair point. And the timing—Samsung launched in July, and Apple just announced its foldable. Is Samsung's surge because foldables are hot, or because people know Apple is coming and want to get ahead of the price increase?
Mimi
That's the real question. Samsung has been the only player in this space for years. Now Apple is validating it. That validation could help Samsung, or it could just be the opening act before Apple takes over.
Luke
The Smart Switch upgrade is interesting because it's concrete. Wireless QR code transfer is a real friction reducer. But we should note that's Samsung's own reporting. We don't have independent data on how many people actually use it or whether it meaningfully changes switching behavior.
Mark
So what happens next? Does Samsung's first-mover advantage hold, or does Apple's ecosystem just absorb the market?
Mimi
Samsung's advantage is that it knows the foldable customer. It knows what they want from the form factor. Apple will have to learn that. But Apple's disadvantage is that it's entering a market where Samsung has already set expectations and built supply chains.
Luke
And we don't know what Apple's foldable actually does differently yet. We know it exists. We don't know its price, its durability, its features. Samsung is selling based on seven years of iteration. Apple is selling based on the Apple brand. That's a real asymmetry.
Der Puls
- Samsung accelerated its push to capture iPhone users before Apple's foldable debut, recording a 1.6x jump in iOS switchers compared to the previous generation — a sign that urgency, not just product quality, is driving strategy.
- Apple's announcement of its first foldable iPhone under new CEO John Ternus has transformed the category from Samsung's private frontier into a contested battleground, threatening to redirect consumer attention overnight.
- In the U.S., 30% of Galaxy Z Flip8 buyers came from competing brands — many of them first-time foldable owners — suggesting the form factor itself is pulling people across ecosystem lines, not just Samsung's brand.
- Samsung has quietly dismantled one of switching's biggest psychological barriers, upgrading Smart Switch to let iPhone users transfer data wirelessly via QR code, requiring nothing installed on the Apple device.
- The company now markets distinct foldable identities — the Fold8 Ultra as a tablet replacement for power users, the standard Fold8 as a multitasking thin-profile device — but Apple's gravitational pull may soon rewrite what customers expect from the category entirely.
For seven years, Samsung built the foldable phone market largely alone, coaxing skeptics and loyalists alike toward a new way of holding the future. Now, as Apple steps into that space under new CEO John Ternus, the South Korean pioneer finds itself in a familiar human predicament: having created something worth wanting, it must now defend it from the very validation its success invited. The 1.6x surge in iPhone users switching to the Galaxy Z Fold8 suggests Samsung's window of opportunity is open — the deeper question is how long it remains so.
Samsung released its Galaxy Z Fold8 series in July with one eye on the calendar. The numbers that followed were encouraging: the rate of iPhone users switching to the new Fold8 lineup was 1.6 times higher than those who had defected to the previous Fold7 and Flip7 models. For a category Samsung essentially invented in 2019, the acceleration felt like momentum. But the timing was deliberate — Apple had already announced it was coming.
Apple's first foldable iPhone arrived Wednesday under new CEO John Ternus, signaling that the company views foldables not as a curiosity but as a core category. For Samsung, this is both confirmation and complication. Apple's entry validates seven years of market-building. It also means Samsung must now compete for the very customers it spent years converting.
The data inside Samsung's gains tells a revealing story. In the United States, 30 percent of Galaxy Z Flip8 buyers came from competing brands, most of them purchasing a foldable for the first time. These are not returning Samsung loyalists — they are people drawn by the form factor itself. Samsung has also sharpened its lineup around distinct use cases: the Fold8 Ultra targets users seeking a tablet replacement, while the standard Fold8 appeals to those drawn to thin design and multitasking.
To ease the crossing, Samsung upgraded its Smart Switch tool to allow iPhone users to transfer their data wirelessly through a QR code scan — no app required on the Apple side. It is a modest technical update with an outsized psychological effect, removing the friction that often keeps curious users from making the leap.
What Samsung cannot engineer away is Apple's gravitational pull. The 1.6x switcher increase suggests its messaging is landing — for now. But Apple has a history of entering markets and reordering them. Samsung's advantage is deep familiarity with the foldable customer. Its challenge is proving that familiarity matters more than the logo on the other side of the shelf.
Samsung is racing to lock in iPhone users before Apple's arrival reshapes the foldable phone market. The South Korean manufacturer released its Galaxy Z Fold8 series in July, and the numbers suggest the timing worked. According to Samsung Electronics, the share of iOS customers switching to the new Fold8 lineup was 1.6 times higher than the rate at which iPhone users had defected to the previous-generation Fold7 and Flip7 models. For a category Samsung essentially invented with its first Galaxy Fold in 2019, this acceleration matters. The company has spent years trying to convince iPhone loyalists that foldables were worth the switch. Now, with Apple preparing to enter the space, that window may be closing.
Apple announced its first foldable iPhone at a launch event on Wednesday, with the device arriving under the leadership of new CEO John Ternus. The move signals that Apple sees foldables not as a niche experiment but as a core product category—one it intends to dominate the way it has dominated traditional smartphones. For Samsung, which has spent seven years building the foldable market almost alone, Apple's entry represents both validation and threat. The validation is real: Apple's decision to build a foldable phone proves the category has matured beyond early adopter curiosity. The threat is equally clear: Apple's brand power and ecosystem lock-in could quickly reshape customer expectations and market share.
Samsung's internal data reveals where its gains are coming from. In the United States, 30 percent of Galaxy Z Flip8 buyers came from competing smartphone brands, with the majority purchasing a foldable phone for the first time. These are not longtime Samsung fans switching back; they are iPhone users and others trying foldables for the first time, drawn by the form factor itself rather than brand loyalty. The Fold8 Ultra, Samsung's most expensive model, appeals to a different customer—one seeking the largest possible screen and the productivity gains that come with it, essentially replacing the need for a tablet. The standard Fold8 attracts buyers interested in the thin profile and the inner display's multitasking capabilities. Samsung has identified distinct use cases for each model and is marketing accordingly.
To smooth the path for iPhone users considering the jump, Samsung has removed one of the traditional barriers to switching: the hassle of transferring data between ecosystems. The company recently upgraded its Smart Switch feature to allow iPhone users to move their information to a Galaxy device wirelessly by scanning a QR code. No app installation required on the iPhone side. It is a small technical change with a large psychological effect—it signals that Samsung understands the friction point and has eliminated it. For price-sensitive iPhone users curious about foldables but wary of the switching process, this matters.
What Samsung cannot control is Apple's gravitational pull. The company has built a foldable market from nothing and spent years convincing skeptics that the technology was worth the premium price. Now it must convince those same customers that Samsung's foldables are worth choosing over Apple's version. The 1.6x increase in iPhone switchers suggests Samsung's messaging is working—for now. But the market has never stayed stable once Apple enters a category. Samsung's advantage is that it knows the foldable customer better than anyone. Its disadvantage is that it is about to find out whether that knowledge matters more than the Apple logo.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Samsung pioneered the foldable category with its first Galaxy Fold in 2019 and has spent years building the market largely alone— Samsung Electronics
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