Samsung has been at the pinnacle of smartphone design ever since it launched the original Note series of devices, which brought the phablet trend to the market, with a more recent example of the trendsetting habit being the S6 Edge which modernised the curved screen and made it into a feature that was garnering a lot of attention from all kinds of users.
The company, in recent years, decided to enter the foldable market with the original fold, which, to put it lightly, was quite mediocre at best. The quality control issues meant that the device was a no-go from the start, with reviewers reporting issues with the display even after getting replacements.
In recent months, we have heard increasing rumours of the company launching the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, the successor to the Z Fold 2, which was the successor to the Fold discussed earlier. Now, it seems that Samsung will not be alone in this race to the best foldable.
BBK Group, Xiaomi To Launch New Foldables
A report by DigiTimes has mentioned that Samsung might not be the only smartphone maker to launch a new foldable device in Q3 or the third quarter of the year, with the report claiming that the likes of Xiaomi, OPPO and Vivo are working on their own version of foldable that will be launched in the next quarter with the aim to beat Samsung's top offerings.
Xiaomi, the famed Chinese company announced its first foldable device back in the month of March is now reportedly planning to launch a cheaper foldable to compete with Samsung. The report states that the device could be priced lower than the Mi Mix Fold, which was launched for a pricey 9,999 Yuan or $1,570.
Meanwhile, BBK Group's Oppo and Vivo are also working on their own foldables, both of which will launch in the second half of the year. Much like the Xiaomi foldable, the specifications of these foldables are not yet known, with no hints expected soon.
Previous leaks have suggested that Samsung is expected to launch two new foldables in the month of July, namely the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3, with the former rumoured to be the company's first offering to come with an under-display selfie snapper. The device will also feature support for the S-Pen and come with 120Hz refresh rate support with a new split-UI feature in the works for the same.