I recently wrote about some of Nokia’s poor design choices in the mid-2000s. Given this backdrop, I feel compelled to write about Samsung’s latest phone, for which it’s pumping millions of dollars into marketing around the world.
The Samsung Z Flip4 is a continuation of its flip-phone line, and feels mostly like a nostalgia play. I see minimal functional benefit, except that the phone itself acts as its own stand to take selfies—which is barely a benefit worth mentioning.
Apparently, Samsung has 65% of the flip phone market, but the entire flip phone market was only estimated at 9 million units in 2021. Compare that to the 240 million iPhones sold in 2021 to get a sense of how small the flip phone market is.
Even if Samsung knock it out of the park with the Flip4, they’re playing in the small leagues.
I don’t see this phone’s sales performance matching the marketing spend placed behind it.
I’ve set a reminder in my calendar to check in 6-9 months once sales figures have been released to see if I’m right or wrong.