Models promote Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra and Flip8 smartphones at the company’s showroom in Seocho District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
More than 1.44 million units of Samsung Electronics’ new Galaxy Z8 foldable smartphone series were sold in Korea during the seven-day preorder period that ended Tuesday, setting a new preorder record for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone lineup.
According to the company, aggregate preorders for the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 reached 1.44 million units during the preorder period from July 28 to Monday. This translates to roughly 140 units sold every minute.
The previous Galaxy preorder record was held by the Galaxy Note 10, which saw 1.38 million preorders over an 11-day period in 2019. Among the Galaxy S series, the previous record belonged to the Galaxy S26 lineup, which logged 1.35 million preorders during a seven-day preorder period earlier this year.
Early sales were driven by the Galaxy Fold8, which for the first time adopted a 4:3 aspect ratio to deliver a more passport-like profile.
Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 smartphones are displayed at the company’s showroom in Seocho District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
The Galaxy Fold8 accounted for about 70 percent of total preorders during the preorder period, reflecting particularly strong consumer demand for new form factors.
Major mobile carriers also reported similar trends. SK Telecom and KT said more than half of customers who preordered the new foldable lineup chose the Fold8, and LG Uplus reported that the model accounted for 67.4 percent of its preorders.
The new form factor demonstrates the broadening appeal of foldable smartphones. According to SK Telecom, 62 percent of customers who preordered a foldable model were switching from conventional bar-type smartphones, up 10 percentage points from the previous generation.
Samsung Electronics also said the proportion of female customers increased significantly with the Z8 series. According to the company, the number of women aged between 10 to 40 who purchased the Z8 series through Samsung’s official online store more than doubled from the previous generation. In particular, the Galaxy Fold8 and Galaxy Fold8 Ultra attracted an increased share of women buyers compared to their predecessors.
Early demand has also been strong in overseas markets. In Japan, where the iPhone has traditionally dominated the premium smartphone market, all color options of the 256-gigabyte Fold8 except lavender have sold out at Samsung Electronics’ official online store.
In the United States, delivery estimates for some popular colors and higher-capacity models have slipped by several months amid strong early demand.
Samsung Electronics Executive Vice President and Head of Korea Marketing Lim Seong-taek, center, poses with the first customers of the Galaxy Z8 series at the company’s showroom in Seocho District, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
The strong preorder performance comes as Samsung’s smartphone-making Mobile Experience (MX) business posted an operating loss in the second quarter, raising expectations that robust foldable sales could help drive an earnings recovery in the second half of the year.
The MX business posted its first-ever quarterly operating loss of 700 billion won ($489.5 million) in the April-June period, with the company attributing it to higher memory prices despite the solid sales of the S26 series and the mass-market A series smartphones.
With memory prices expected to remain elevated, strong sales of premium foldable smartphones could help Samsung improve its margins.
“Stronger sales of high-end models would help cushion the impact of rising memory prices,” an industry official said.
