Samsung foldable preorders hit 1 million in record rush

Customers line up in front of the Samsung Gangnam flagship store in southern Seoul to preorder their foldable smartphones on Tuesday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Preorders for Samsung Electronics' latest foldables have surpassed 1 million units in Korea, outperforming the four previous editions of the phones.

The Korean electronics company said Tuesday that preorders for its Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 have reached 1.02 million units between Aug. 1 and 7. The figure is nearly on par with its flagship Galaxy S23 series which received 1.09 million preorders last year.

The previous Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 recorded 970,000 units of preorders when they were unveiled last year.

Z Flip 5s were better received than the more expensive Z Fold 5, taking up 70 percent of the preordered units.

The Flip series' popularity has grown as the Z Flip 4 accounted for 60 percent of preorders this time.

"Flip 5's popularity is undoubtedly attributable to the enlarged cover screen called the 'Flex Window'," said Samsung in a release Tuesday.

"Diverse camera experiences enabled through 'FlexCam', which is only available on foldables, was also pointed out as one of its popular elements."

Samsung Electronics, the manufacturer of the world's first foldable smartphone, is trying to maintain its leading position in the new form factor market amid new entries from Microsoft, Apple and Huawei.

The company is especially banking on foldables to entice the younger generation with the phone’s various aesthetic elements, especially with the Z Flip series.

Samsung President Roh Tae-moon, in charge of its smartphone business, confidently stated that one out of three smartphones sold in Korea this year will be foldables.

Samsung's foldables sales last year hit nearly 10 million units globally, according to Roh, and this year it will sell more.

"Considering the initial response to the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5, we expect our foldables' sales to grow on par with the growth of the market," Roh said.

The foldable smartphone market is forecast to grow by 55 percent this year, according to market tracker TrendForce, shipping 19.8 million units compared to last year's 12.8 million units.

The Z Flip 5 and Fold 5 will hit local retailers on Aug. 11 with price tags of 1.39 million won ($1,061) and 2.1 million won for the 256-gigabyte storage option, respectively.

BY JIN EUNS-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]