Outpaced by Huawei in sales, the Korean manufacturer unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold2 on Wednesday as well as new versions of its ultra-wide phones.
The Galaxy Z Fold2 succeeds the Galaxy Fold, unveiled in early 2019
AFP
Samsung introduced a new folding smartphone and a slew of other devices on Wednesday that may help it jumpstart sales, as it just lost the market leader to Huawei in the second quarter.
“Extraordinary challenges”
The Galaxy Z Fold2 succeeds the Galaxy Fold, unveiled in early 2019, which had experienced some setbacks.
The South Korean giant is also expanding its ranges with two new versions of its ultra-wide phones, the Galaxy Note20 and Galaxy Note20 Ultra, tablets (Tab S7 and S7 +), a connected watch (the Galaxy Watch3) and ergonomic headphones ( Galaxy Buds Live).
Samsung unveiled the new models as well as partnerships (including Xbox for video games) via an online conference, pandemic requires.
“We have never been more dependent on technology than today. They keep us connected as we face extraordinary challenges in the world, ”said TM Roh, director of mobile communications for Samsung Electronics.
Market decline
The prolific group is resisting the pandemic well, which has largely favored digital activities.
But the global smartphone market has “collapsed” in the second quarter this year, according to the Canalys firm: it fell 14% to 285 million handsets passed, after a first quarter already in decline.
Apple is the only brand in the top tier that has continued to grow.
Huawei dethroned Samsung in the second quarter to become the world’s largest seller of smartphones. Between April and June, the Chinese group sold 55.8 million phones (-5% over one year) against 53.7 million for Samsung (-30%).
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