Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 is currently up for pre-order and will go on sale starting September 18. While the company hasn’t officially disclosed the pre-order numbers, a report from Sedaily suggests the Galaxy Z Fold 2 has set a new record with pre-orders in its home country South Korea.
The company has received about 50,000 pre-orders for the $2000 Galaxy Z Fold 2 smartphone. By counting the trade-ins, which usually account for 10 percent to 20 percent of sales, the number goes all the way up to 60,000 units. Going forward, it could even become the best selling foldable smartphone in the world.
Samsung receives record pre-orders for the new Galaxy Z Fold 2
While the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is still available through a few online stores and offline stores, it went out of stock on the company’s official website. Apparently, the company had enough units to meet the surge in demand.
In addition, Samsung will immediately start shipping all pre-ordered devices starting September 15. Notably, pre-ordered customers can get their hands on the new foldable smartphone before it goes on sale in Korea. Unlike the other Galaxy flagship smartphones, the pre-order numbers aren’t in the millions for the foldables.
The total pre-orders will be around 60,000 units in South Korea
Still, the 60,000 pre-orders for the Galaxy Z Fold 2 are pretty impressive. In comparison, Samsung had only 1,000 units available for the original Galaxy Fold’s first pre-order sale. While Samsung has offered substantial upgrades with the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the foldable display and the hinge still make it fragile.
Nevertheless, users have started embracing the folding form factor. The foldable smartphone can only go mainstream once the foldable display technology becomes more mature. The current form factor also makes the Galaxy foldable devices a bit bulkier. Besides, not many can justify its premium price tag of $2000.
Apart from the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the newly launched Galaxy Note 20 series also did well in South Korea. With the ongoing pandemic and “plastic” Galaxy Note 20, it has managed to reach 90 percent of the previous-gen pre-orders. Speaking of the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the company has included several subtle changes but the form factor remains the same.
The new foldable from Samsung also sports larger displays, thanks to its punch-hole camera cut-outs. For the protection of the foldable display, the company has opted for the Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) which was first introduced with the Galaxy Z Flip.
This should make it more durable than the plastic layer protection of the Galaxy Fold. As of now, the company is offering a one-time screen replacement for free with its foldable smartphones in many markets.