Galaxy Z Fold 4 And Z Flip 4 Have Ambitious Production Targets

Samsung seems to be going all out on foldables, what it probably sees as the future of smartphones and tablets. Of course, those haven't been embraced wholeheartedly in the market, especially with their comparatively higher price tags. Samsung has somewhat addressed that point this year, especially with the significantly more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 3 that is reportedly selling quite well. That, in turn, seems to have spurred Samsung to set its sights higher in 2022, aiming to produce and sell almost 10 million units of its foldable phones that, in turn, could make up a fifth of its target volume next year.

Foldable devices are fancy and interesting, but they are still far from becoming the reliable mobile partners we need for everyday (and every night) use. Concerns about durability still linger, even with the stronger Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) material and new "Armor Aluminum" frame that Samsung's 2021 generation use. While the Galaxy Z Flip 3 is definitely cheaper, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 almost evens out because the special S Pen is a separate purchase.

It seems that the Galaxy Z Flip 3, however, is selling well enough that it is affecting Samsung's plans for 2022. According to a report from South Korean media, the company is allocating about 10 million units of its production capacity to foldable devices. Of these, 2.9 million will be for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, while an impressive 6.9 million units of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be produced.

Those are very ambitious numbers, considering how young and unsteady the foldable phone market is at this point. There's also the matter of actual production issues, from the yield rates of the flexible screens themselves to the ongoing component supply problem for semiconductors. Chipmakers like Intel don't foresee that situation improving until late 2022 or even early 2023.

Those figures do hint at Samsung's confidence in foldables, though they're still not enough to go head-to-head with the Galaxy S series. As for the Galaxy S22, Samsung is planning to make 14.1 million Galaxy S22 units, 7.9 Galaxy S22+ units, and 10.9 Galaxy S22 Ultras. These numbers reflect Samsung's experience in the past, where the "Plus" model almost always performs poorly in comparison to the other two.