Samsung simply cannot handle the hotness of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 5G
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It doesn't take a rocket scientist or an experienced tech industry analyst to realize that Samsung's decision to halt the development of its popular Galaxy Note family in favor of the fledgling foldable category didn't come lightly, but as suggested by the early global demand (and ensuing shipment delays) of the Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, the unprecedented gamble seemed to pay off handsomely.
Unfortunately for the world's largest smartphone vendor, said delays were most likely not entirely caused by the popularity of the two hot new foldable powerhouses, presumably having at least something to do with the chip shortage that could lead to the cancellation of the Galaxy S21 FE as well.
Instead, it's becoming more and more obvious that foldable smartphones are part of the mainstream tech scene already rather than still trying to break free from their experimental status. The new status is obvious in other countries apart from Korea, including the US, where Samsung is also very clearly struggling to keep up with strong demand.
Amazon, meanwhile, can hook you up with a few different unlocked Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G flavors at a $75 discount in a matter of days, which is sadly not what we can say about the Z Fold 3. The costlier model "usually ships within 1 to 2 months" right now in three 256 gig storage configurations marked down by a whopping $280 in combination with a handy S Pen case.
Everybody wants a piece of the foldable action
While Samsung has been able to sell more than a million combined units of its 2021 foldable portfolio in a little over a month in South Korea alone, the domestic availability situation doesn't look too rosy at the moment. According to new local media reports, the company is experiencing great difficulty "satisfying robust demand", with many customers having to wait "up to one month" for their orders to be delivered right now and "some smartphone shops" currently unable to take orders to begin with.
Interestingly, some analysts believe part of the blame lies with "company management", which may have been taken by surprise by the success of the 5G-enabled Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3. In other words, Samsung was simply unprepared to handle the two's "robust demand" from the start, at least in Korea and according to this theory presented by certain pundits in the region, finding it hard after the actual release to ramp up production amid component shortages impacting so many different companies.
Considering how much more successful the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 are proving compared to their forerunners, such a theory does make quite a bit of sense. But given the delays and/or cancellations of the Galaxy Note 21 and S21 FE, we highly doubt that paints an accurate picture of Samsung's preparation here.
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Instead, it's becoming more and more obvious that foldable smartphones are part of the mainstream tech scene already rather than still trying to break free from their experimental status. The new status is obvious in other countries apart from Korea, including the US, where Samsung is also very clearly struggling to keep up with strong demand.
The company's official US e-store, for one, is currently listing multiple Z Flip 3 models as merely ready to ship in "5 to 6 weeks", with all three 256GB Z Fold 3 variants in stock at the time of this writing keeping buyers waiting until November.
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Amazon, meanwhile, can hook you up with a few different unlocked Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G flavors at a $75 discount in a matter of days, which is sadly not what we can say about the Z Fold 3. The costlier model "usually ships within 1 to 2 months" right now in three 256 gig storage configurations marked down by a whopping $280 in combination with a handy S Pen case.
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