Foldable Phones

The future is here, and it is foldable phones. This year, both Samsung and Huawei have launched their own foldable phones- some very expensive prototypes. While both brands have been hailed for launching us into the future, the one taking everyone’s attention is the Huawei Mate X- Huawei’s version of the foldable phone. Its general appearance is simply better than Samsung’s offering- the Galaxy Fold. Not only is it a lot thinner than the Galaxy Fold especially when folded, but it also features a much bigger foldable display that stays on the outside. The Galaxy Fold, on the other hand, folds inwards like a book which gives it a thicker look. But why is this? Why does the Huawei Mate X seem to be garnering more attention in a field so young? What marketing strategies have allowed this? Here we will seek to understand why this happens.

During their press release event, Huawei took jabs at Samsung as it unveiled their Mate X. They compared the phone’s display with the Galaxy Fold, which was an easy comparison. The Huawei phone has a much larger tablet display, while still maintaining thinner bezels. On top of this, the Galaxy Fold features a camera notch which is not too pretty either. Even when folded, the Huawei phone provides a larger screen area while compared to the Galaxy Fold. They used these obvious weaknesses from their competition to elevate their product which was a fascinating marketing strategy. Samsung, however, was unwilling to let that go- citing that Huawei’s Mate X is just the easier way to design foldable phones. The reason why Samsung went with an inward fold is that it increases security. According to the Samsung UK director of product, services, and commercial strategy Kate Beaumont, they considered the security of the screen as well as factors such as wanting to put a screen cover. The best way to protect the screen is by having it on the inside. Samsung is selling durability and sophistication with this one and it is something their customers can get behind. Samsung also has the upper hand in terms of pricing, where their Samsung Fold will go for a starting price of $1980 against $2600 for the Huawei Mate X. While these are still eye-watering prices, they will make all the difference when it comes to marketing the phones.

However, these are all still to be seen and not touched. While the companies have launched these products, they are yet to find themselves in the market. The reason why is evident- research and development still need to be done before the foldable phones can be mass released into the market. But even after this is done, the phones will still be a very hard sell. It will be interesting to see how they handle the marketing of the devices which will go for $2000 and above upon release. For now, though, both companies continue to market the product using the unveiling press events where their stills and videos are so well done that, they encourage anyone willing to buy this product. They also have been allowing people to view the devices up close, though Samsung did gain suspicion for not allowing people to touch their phones. Huawei allowed very few people to touch it- relying mainly on demonstrations from its own staff. This raised some obvious questions regarding the readiness of these products which for now remain far off. Another marketing point for the foldable Huawei has been the 5G network offering. While the world remains in 4G, Huawei has already launched 5G network enabled phones before the network itself has been built. The CEO says that is the only factor delaying the launch of this product. In my opinion, both products are revolutionary. The Huawei Mate X is very aesthetically pleasing, and all reports seem to point to the fact that they are readier to launch than Samsung. The Samsung Fold does, however, promise durability which is obviously a major factor- no one wants their phone breaking. Both companies have marketed their products well, and now we can only wait until the products hit the market before, we can choose the better one.