Galaxy Z Fold 9 is rumored to keep the same camera, Fold8 sales

Fold8 sales increased by more than 20% in the week of iPhone Duo launch

According to The Korea Herald, citing data from Korean carriers, domestic Galaxy Z Fold8 sales in the week of October 23 to 29 increased more than 20% compared to the previous week. October 23 is also the day iPhone Duo starts selling. Specific machine numbers are not announced. Previously in September, right after Apple introduced the iPhone Duo, Fold8 also increased by about 10% compared to the previous week.

The two machines are quite similar in design, both folding like a passport with a 7.6-inch inner screen, so buyers can easily put it on the scale.

The price is more than 1 million won cheaper is the most obvious reason

In Korea, the 256GB iPhone Duo costs 3.29 million won, while the Galaxy Z Fold8 with the same capacity is 2.28 million won, a difference of more than 1 million won. This gap is even larger thanks to network carrier subsidies. KT increased the price subsidy for Fold8 from October 21, SK Telecom and LG Uplus followed suit the next day, each increasing about 100,000 won, raising the maximum subsidy to 600,000 won with premium packages. Samsung also extended its price guarantee program to take back the device until November 30.

Is the iPhone Duo screen affected?

This sales surge coincided with some iPhone Duo buyers reporting cracked internal screens and light streaks near the folds shortly after going on sale. Apple acknowledged the problem on October 26, saying only a few devices had the problem and replacing new devices for customers. Some people in Korea even returned faultless phones because they were worried about the screen being damaged later. CEO John Ternus told Reuters that only a very small percentage of devices were returned because of screen errors.

9to5Google offers many reasons that could make buyers turn to Samsung: better price, many applications on the iPhone Duo are not optimized for the folding screen, or a bad impression from the screen. But The Korea Herald also clearly stated that there is no evidence that the person who paid the iPhone Duo switched to Samsung, or that the screen error was the direct cause. So I think it's a bit hasty to say that Fold8 benefited from Apple's incident. Price and subsidies seem to be a more solid reason.

Fold 9 is rumored to keep the same camera

On the same day, Android Authority quoted news from Lanzuk, an information leaker in Korea on Naver, saying that Samsung intends to keep almost the same camera hardware for both Galaxy Z Fold 9 and Fold 9 Ultra. Fold 9 Ultra is said to still use a 200MP main camera, 50MP super wide angle and 3x telephoto, most likely still a 10MP sensor like Fold8 Ultra. Fold 9 usually keeps the pair of 50MP main camera and 50MP super wide angle of Fold8.

Android Authority is quite disappointed, because many people still expect Samsung to put a longer periscope or telephoto lens on the most expensive foldable. PhoneArena notes that Fold 9 won't be released until summer 2027, so it's too early to be sure. At the same time, there is also news that Samsung plans to make additional Fold 9 Plus or Fold 9 FE, Fold 9 Pro and Galaxy Z Slide to compete with Apple and Chinese companies.

Samsung is playing it safe?

Looking at the two news side by side, I see that Samsung is in a quite comfortable position. Fold8 sold well, pre-orders in Korea reached 1.44 million units for the entire Galaxy Z8 series, the highest ever for a Galaxy series. iPhone Duo is both more expensive, in short supply, and has a screen problem. In that situation, keeping the camera intact to focus on price and durability also makes business sense.

But if next year Apple releases the second generation iPhone Duo with the screen error fixed, and the Fold 9 has nothing new in the camera, then the price advantage may not be enough. When you're holding the folding phone, do you think the camera is the thing you need Samsung to upgrade the most?