Samsung's new foldables are smashing every pre-order record in Korea and Europe

[AlwaysReadyAaron76]

Samsungs new Galaxy Z Fold8 lineup is apparently smashing every pre-order record the company has ever set for foldables, and the numbers being reported are genuinely striking for a device category that was written off as a gimmick for years

In South Korea, pre-orders hit 1.44 million units across the three models in just seven days, which beats the previous record of 1.38 million set by the Galaxy Note10 all the way back in 2019, and the Fold8 itself is likely accounting for around a million of those orders on its own

US demand is apparently running 30 percent above the previous Galaxy Z high, with the Fold8 making up nearly half of all reservations despite the premium pricing, and Europe is showing similar strength with pre-orders up 20 percent year over year and the standard Fold8 capturing around 40 percent of the regions foldable pre-orders

Whats genuinely interesting is Samsung specifically noting that three times as many Flip users are switching to the larger Fold devices compared to previous generations, suggesting people who got comfortable with the folding form factor through the cheaper Flip are now trading up rather than just staying loyal to whichever model they started with

Demand has apparently been strong enough that Samsung had to extend the activation period in South Korea and is dealing with delivery delays plus some colors selling out entirely, which is a genuinely different problem to have compared to the early years of foldables when durability concerns and high prices kept most buyers away entirely

The new Fold8 also reportedly has a lighter, more compact passport style design thats been getting praised, which alongside AI features seems to be the actual driver here rather than just brand loyalty or novelty, foldables finally seem to be closing the gap with mainstream flagship appeal rather than staying a niche experiment

Samsung Galaxy Z series is breaking pre-order recordsmashable.com

[ParallelSelf50]

Three times as many Flip users trading up to Fold models is honestly the most interesting stat in this whole story, that suggests real format loyalty forming rather than people just buying whatever Samsung releases that year

[Crossing65]

Beating a Galaxy Note10 record from 2019 is a genuinely meaningful comparison since that was Samsungs flagship line at its absolute peak, foldables catching up to that shows how far the category has actually matured

[Connor97]

Samsung extending the activation period in Korea because demand outpaced their own preparation is a nice problem to have but also suggests they genuinely underestimated how big this launch would be internally

[SilverCurrent]

Price increases havent slowed this down at all which is the real signal for me, when a premium product raises prices and still breaks every sales record that tells you demand is genuinely there rather than being propped up by discounts

[Enterprise]

The lighter more compact passport style design praise is probably doing more heavy lifting here than people realize, the biggest complaint about foldables has always been bulk and weight compared to a normal phone

[SignalFlowJaguar]

Delivery delays and colors selling out is such a different problem than the early Fold years when Samsung was practically begging people to try the format despite the durability scares and high prices

[Grim Callum]

Foldables finally becoming genuinely mainstream after years of being dismissed as gimmicks for early adopters with money to burn is honestly a pretty satisfying vindication for the whole product category

[Patrick94]

AI features getting credit alongside the hardware design feels like it might be doing some marketing lifting too, curious how much people actually use the AI stuff daily versus just buying for the improved hardware and form factor

[Barrel83]

Would be interesting to see how Apples rumored foldable iPhone launch later this year changes this dynamic, if Samsung is already hitting records without direct Apple competition in this format that could shift once Apple actually enters

[DiamondDallas]

Curious how much of this demand is genuinely new foldable converts versus existing Fold7 owners just upgrading on schedule, the headline numbers dont really separate new adopters from loyal repeat customers