Samsung's Foldable Lead Is Slipping as Apple Circles

Samsung spent six years and billions of dollars teaching the world to fold a phone in half. Now the company that invented the category is watching its lead shrink — and the next threat isn't coming from a rival Android maker. It's coming from Cupertino. Foldable phones still make up a sliver of the American market, roughly 2% of smartphone sales. But Samsung's grip on that sliver is loosening. According to industry tracking firm IDC, Samsung's share of global foldable shipments has fallen from north of 80% in 2022 to under 60% today, with Huawei, Motorola, and Honor eating into the category Samsung created. The timing couldn't be worse. Analysts expect Apple to enter the foldable market as soon as late 2026 with a book-style iPhone that opens into a small tablet. If that happens, Samsung loses its most valuable advantage: being the only game in town. **Why the price tag matters more than the hinge** Here's the money angle most tech coverage buries. Foldables are expensive to buy and expensive to own. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 starts at $1,899. Samsung's own Galaxy Z Flip 7 begins around $1,099 — more than most Americans pay for a laptop. That price gap is the real battleground. Apple has a habit of arriving late, charging more, and winning anyway. The iPhone wasn't the first smartphone. The Apple Watch wasn't the first smartwatch. If Apple launches a foldable at $2,000 or more, it won't undercut Samsung — it will validate the category and make Samsung's price look normal by comparison. For consumers, that cuts two ways. A serious Apple foldable would force Samsung to compete harder on trade-in values, carrier promotions, and financing. We've already seen the pattern: when competition heats up, carriers roll out $1,000-off trade-in deals and 36-month installment plans that quietly function as discounts. **The repair bill nobody talks about** Foldables carry a hidden cost that flat phones don't: the screen. A replacement inner display on a Galaxy Z Fold can run $500 or more without insurance, and Samsung's foldable repairs are among the priciest in the industry. If you're financing a $1,800 phone for three years, a single out-of-warranty repair can wipe out whatever you saved on a trade-in promo. That's the opening Apple is reportedly targeting. Apple has spent years quietly patenting hinge designs and testing durability standards, and its playbook is usually the same: wait until the technology is boring and reliable, then sell it as effortless. **What this means for your wallet** If you're eyeing a foldable right now, patience may pay. Three scenarios are worth watching: - **Apple launches on time.** Expect Samsung price cuts and aggressive carrier deals within months of an announcement. - **Apple delays again.** Samsung keeps its premium pricing and foldable discounts stay stingy. - **A mid-range foldable lands.** Motorola and Google are already pushing cheaper flip-style phones. That's where real price competition starts. One practical move regardless of what Apple does: check your carrier's trade-in offer before buying unlocked. Foldable trade-in values swing wildly, and a phone bought at full price can lose $700 in resale value within a year. The foldable wars are about to get interesting. For the first time, Samsung has to defend the category instead of owning it — and that's usually good news for anyone who's been waiting for the price to come down. **Our take:** Samsung deserves credit for proving foldables could work, but six years of near-monopoly pricing has kept them a luxury item. Apple's arrival won't make foldables cheap — it'll make them normal, and normal is what finally forces real discounts. If you can hold out another year, your wallet probably should.