Samsung foldables now account for over 20% of flagship sales in India, says Southwest Asia CEO

Samsung's foldable smartphones now contribute more than 20% of its flagship smartphone sales in India, with the company expecting adoption to gather pace as more consumers embrace newer form factors, Samsung Southwest Asia CEO and President J B Park said.

The South Korean electronics giant, which introduced its first foldable smartphone in 2019, last week unveiled its eighth-generation foldables, the India-made Galaxy Z8 series.

"When we first introduced the foldables in 2019, they were not even known to the consumers. Even my neighbours were surprised that our phone could fold and asked - Is this real? Since then, we have come a long way. Today, more than 20 per cent of our flagship sales are from foldables. And year by year, it (foldable sales) is growing.


"Based on whatever the experience or the requirements are for the consumer, that's where we are focussing. I expect there will be an expansion in the consumer base transitioning to the new form factor," Park said at an Indian media roundtable in London.

Samsung is also seeing strong traction for its premium devices beyond India's metros. Around 65% of its flagship smartphone sales, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy Z foldable series, now come from tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well as rural markets.

"We have seen the rural market growing in double-digits, much faster than metros... We continue to invest heavily in tier 2 and tier 3 towns to educate them about our premium products, which are different from what we used to sell in rural markets, like 2G and feature phones which were mostly about voice. But once these (tier 2, tier 3 and rural) customers come in touch with a new technology and environment, the transition rate is much faster, and that's how we are focussing on the rural market for expansion," Park said.

Addressing concerns over potential smartphone price increases amid a global memory chip shortage, Park said higher device prices across brands were "inevitable". However, he said Samsung continues to cushion the impact for Indian buyers by offering interest-free EMI schemes of up to 30 months, with the company bearing the financing cost.

"We will provide the devices on EMIs to lessen the burden and also bear the interest so that our customers do not have to worry about the cost, but still the device cost itself will grow, just like our competition," Park said.

He added that Samsung has been absorbing rising costs over the past eight months, resulting in smaller price hikes than some of its rivals.

"If you compare how much they (competition) have increased the price, Samsung's increment is relatively lesser than competition because we have been absorbing the cost. Not because we want to maintain the market share or grow the market share, but as a company that is focussed to provide the best devices, the loss that we are taking in 2026 is humongous," he said.

On Samsung's consumer electronics business, Park said profitability remains under pressure due to intense competition, particularly from Chinese brands.

"I'm not that profitable in consumer electronics because, just like in the mobile division 10 years ago, when we had a lot of Chinese brands challenging us, and they came in and faded out like a tsunami, they keep on knocking the doors in the Indian market. I see the same trend in consumer electronics.

"We see a lot of Chinese brands in the market, which is bringing down the profitability of our business. Can we be profitable if there are 70 brands in ACs? If three stronger ones (brands) remain, I think that's when we can start making profits. But as of now, I don't think so. The Chinese are very tough on cost and are very competitive. (Despite intense competition) We are trying to maintain our top position in both display and home appliances," Park added.

(With PTI inputs)