Samsung opens and closes the Z Flip 6 hinge supplier case
Samsung is running behind on Galaxy Z Flip 6 sales to the tune of 10% less units shipped then with the Galaxy Z Flip 5 last year and this point in time. The softer market for foldables, or at least clamshells (and its own clamshells in particular), have put its plans to diversify suppliers on pause.
The fellow Koreans from KH Vatech have been supplying the bulk of Samsung’s foldable phone hinges up until this year. It still makes the vast majority of that all-important component for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 shipments.
For the Galaxy Z Flip 6, however, Samsung found an alternative supplier from the land of its archrivals in foldable phone manufacturing. tips The Elec. The Chinese Huanli now makes almost half of the hinges for the Z Flip 6, chipping market share away from KH Vatech. The dwindling share of clamshell hinge shipments, together with the drop in demand has presented a challenge for the Korean company which needs 7 to 8 million unit orders to break even on the hinge business.
Moreover, other hinge-making companies that Samsung considered to co-opt as suppliers, are now saying that there is a lull in those business plans. Samsung typically sells 70% Z Flip and 30% of the more expensive Z Fold line models in a given year, and both of its 2024 foldables are witnessing a similar drop in shipments.
It is faced with increased competition from Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Huawei, Xiaomi, or Honor, with the latter about to release the world’s thinnest foldable phone globally on September 5, which has better specs than the Z Fold 6 to boot.
This is why Samsung is preparing a third foldable phone line release for the year, the so-called Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, which is much thinner and offers a larger main display. It remains to be seen if the Galaxy Z Fold SE will revive the soft market for Samsung foldables when it is launched later this month, or in October.
Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he’s keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.