Could Samsung be working on a Galaxy Z Fold FE or cheaper foldable phone? I sat down for an interview with Drew Blackard, vice president of mobile product management at Samsung, and asked about what it would take for foldables to become more affordable.
During this one-on-one conversation, Blackard discusses also the biggest upgrades of this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, as well as how Samsung plans to stay competitive in the smartphone market.
During this one-on-one conversation, Blackard discusses also the biggest upgrades of this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, as well as how Samsung plans to stay competitive in the smartphone market.
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00:00 Samsung is ushering in a new generation of foldable devices, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and
00:06 Galaxy Z Flip 5.
00:08 I'm here in Seoul for Tom's Guide experiencing everything that Unpacked has to offer including
00:12 the pleasure of sitting down with Samsung Vice President of Mobile Product Management
00:16 Drew Blackard to talk about the new devices and what they mean for Samsung's foldable
00:20 strategy.
00:21 Thank you for joining me.
00:22 Thank you.
00:23 The redesigned hinge on the Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 seem like a big deal.
00:27 Why was that a priority for this generation of devices?
00:31 Well I think a lot of it starts with when we do a new product we always want to understand
00:35 from our current users what they love about the device, different pain points they've
00:39 had and try to resolve those.
00:40 When we think about the hinge specifically, these devices are really about portability
00:44 and pocketability and so we want to make them slimmer and thinner in each generation.
00:48 And by going to what we call a zero gap hinge we're able to narrow the device down.
00:52 I actually have one here I can show you where there's literally no gap and that helps from
00:57 a durability perspective because there's less space for any things in your pocket to
01:01 get in between the device.
01:02 And it also helps from a pocketability and just ergonomics standpoint.
01:07 It's about 2mm slimmer so it feels much better in the hand, in a purse or in a pocket.
01:12 How do you say the latest Z series generation stands compared to where it started in 2019
01:17 with the original Fold?
01:18 Well it's kind of crazy.
01:20 This is our fifth generation foldable and so we're really excited about where things
01:24 have gone in terms of innovation.
01:25 If you think back to where we started, so much has changed.
01:28 I mean we've really innovated with the cameras.
01:32 The cameras are much more what we would think of as kind of flagship experience.
01:36 The displays have gotten larger.
01:38 The use cases for foldables have become even better and better each generation.
01:44 And with our current Flip for example, we now have a cover screen which we call our
01:48 flex window that's about three times larger than the most recent generation.
01:53 If you think back to the first one, there was a very, very small panel where you could
01:56 just see the time basically.
01:58 And now you have a full interactive display on the front where you can quickly read notifications,
02:03 respond to messages and things like that.
02:05 Do you anticipate the Fold and Flip form factors ultimately persevering or is there a place
02:10 for a different kind of flexible smartphone in the near future?
02:12 I think as a starting point, Flip and Fold form factors are showing that there's a lot
02:17 of interest.
02:19 That said, I think there's continued room for innovation.
02:21 I think the way that I think about it is Fold very much is targeted towards a productivity
02:27 user.
02:28 You can open what is a 6.2 inch display into a 7.6 inch display.
02:33 So you basically have a tablet-like experience in your pocket which is a whole different
02:37 set of use cases.
02:39 For Flip users, it's kind of the opposite.
02:41 It's consumers that want a little less phone at certain points where they can put it in
02:45 the purse or pocket and more phone and they can unfold it into a 6.7 inch display which
02:50 is basically the size of our S-Series Plus model.
02:53 So you get kind of that big screen experience just when you want it.
02:57 That said, I think Samsung at its core is an innovative company and we do incredible
03:03 work with displays.
03:04 So we're always looking just form factor-wise where things go.
03:06 I think for the time being, we think we've got a really good breadth of product that
03:11 attracts just a different range of use cases and different users.
03:15 But we're really excited to see where foldable technology goes just in general.
03:19 On that topic, what has Samsung identified as the biggest obstacle to foldable adoption
03:24 and how are you going about addressing it?
03:26 Well, I think with this generation, we've identified a couple areas from previous users
03:31 of where we want to innovate on to make the foldable experience more mainstream.
03:35 So one is the form factor itself.
03:37 We talked about it a little bit with the hinge, but the devices themselves are slimmer by
03:40 about 2 millimeters and so it's easier to fit in the hand.
03:44 For fold specifically, one of the areas that we heard from our fold users is they'd like
03:47 it to be lighter weight so that it's easier to carry around.
03:50 So it's 10 grams lighter.
03:52 So that's one area in particular.
03:54 And then the second area is just in general is durability.
03:57 So we know that many consumers are now aware of foldables, but they might not have touched
04:03 and used one for the first time.
04:05 And so we want to give peace of mind that someone who is going from a solid piece of
04:10 glass to a flexible display has nothing to worry about.
04:13 And so again, this is our fifth generation of these.
04:15 So what we'll be talking about a lot more is the innovation and materials and the hinge
04:20 designs that we have.
04:22 So it has grill glass Victus 2, which is an improvement in the glass.
04:27 We're using armor aluminum, so it's super sturdy frame.
04:31 And then our new Zero Gap hinge, which has an all new design with fewer moving parts
04:35 to make an overall durable product.
04:38 On top of that, we'll also offer some additional benefits to foldable users.
04:43 So our foldables come with a factory installed screen protector out of the box.
04:49 We'll also offer a free one-time screen protector replacement with that, and then also discounted
04:54 screen repair.
04:55 So for anyone that would potentially have any issues, we'll have discounted screen repairs
04:59 for a one-time repair for users.
05:02 So we're really trying to focus in on the durability is no longer a barrier for wanting
05:08 to try a foldable.
05:10 What is Samsung's predominant strategy for commanding the global market share of foldable
05:14 smartphones with competitions from the like of the Google Pixel Fold and Motorola Razr
05:19 Plus?
05:20 In terms of competition, we really welcome it.
05:22 I think Samsung created the foldable category, and as new competitors enter, it really just
05:27 validates that this is a form factor that there's a lot of interest in.
05:30 I think we announced last year we've sold over 10 million foldables globally.
05:34 That was a year ago, so we've surpassed that since then.
05:37 And we think that the more awareness comes to the category, it really puts us in a great
05:43 position to continue leadership of that category.
05:45 And I think the other area that's so important is foldables because they have unique use
05:50 cases because of the form factor, whether that be on fold, having a multi-window experience
05:55 where you can have multiple apps open at the same time, or on flip, where we have what
06:00 we call flex screen experience, where you're using the device where it's literally kind
06:05 of flexed in half.
06:07 These are all unique use cases that an ecosystem of app developers need to be thinking about.
06:12 So the more devices there are out there, the more unique use cases there'll be on foldables,
06:16 and the better the products will be ultimately.
06:18 Do you think that we'll ever see a Galaxy Z Fold FE or Flip FE to target shoppers on
06:25 a tighter budget?
06:26 How can we make foldables more affordable?
06:28 I think that's in terms of just price points, foldables eventually will come down to price.
06:33 This year we really focused on resolving the pain points that we saw for our current foldable
06:37 user base.
06:38 So with fold, a lot of that had to do with the form factor, making it slimmer, making
06:43 it lighter weight, powerful processing, our brand new latest processor.
06:48 And on flip, a lot of that was driven through the flex window and some of that cover screen
06:53 experience.
06:54 And so we were really focused on continuing to refine the experience.
06:57 Of course, over time, as the technology evolves, we'll continue to see innovation and hopefully
07:03 bring it down in price point at a future time.
07:06 So the priority first is to refine the product and then from there we can talk about bringing
07:10 the price down.
07:11 Absolutely, because first things first, we need to make sure that it's an incredible
07:14 experience and we want to continue to refine it so that it becomes really mainstream in
07:19 terms of all the use cases that you're doing and really the premium aspects of the product.
07:24 And as those get perfected, then we can kind of start thinking about how we broaden out
07:29 the portfolio.
07:30 So Samsung's S-series is obviously still very popular and still a priority, but how do you
07:35 see the market share splitting between the Z-series foldables and S-series going forward?
07:40 Well, we've got big goals for foldables.
07:43 Our goal is by 2025 that that's 50% of our global flagship mix.
07:49 And at the moment I would say we're kind of well on our way towards that trajectory.
07:53 So as we see foldable adoption grow, what do you think that looks like in the future
07:57 for the foldable market?
07:59 Well, the way I like to think about it is I have twins at home that are four and a half
08:03 years old.
08:04 And if you just think about your own evolution of the phones you've had over the years, you
08:09 know, it evolved from maybe not having a phone to, you know, flip type phones to bar type
08:15 phones.
08:16 They're going to go through that same evolution.
08:18 And if you just think forward, whether that be whether they're, you know, in high school
08:22 or at some point in my age, they're not going to be carrying around a bar type smartphone.
08:26 It's going to be foldables, it's going to be different form factors.
08:29 It'll be, I think the innovation that we're seeing today is just the starting point and
08:32 scratching the surface of what's going to be, you know, a huge new wave of different
08:37 form factors.
08:38 And we're really excited to be on the cutting edge of that.
08:41 If that's the case, I think we have a lot to look forward to.
08:44 Thank you so much, Drew, for your time.
08:45 Thank you.
08:46 Be sure to check out all of our coverage of the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy
08:51 Z Flip 5 on Tom's Guide.com.
08:53 You can also see what we're doing on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok at
08:57 Tom's Guide.
08:58 And as always, I'm Kate Kozich.
09:00 Thanks for watching.
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