Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 is reportedly taking great advantage of the iPhone Duo 'Crackgate' scandal
Apple's widely reported iPhone Duo durability issues seem to be helping the already hugely popular Galaxy Z Fold 8 to reach new heights of mainstream success.
Can the passport-style Galaxy Z Fold 8 outsell the first-gen iPhone Duo? Given that some analytics firms predicted before Apple's rookie foldable effort actually went on sale that the Cupertino-based tech giant would eclipse Samsung in this market segment as early as next year in terms of global shipments, that obviously seemed highly unlikely... until recently.
While Samsung's first-ever wide foldable has been selling like hotcakes around the world since its commercial debut back in early August, something must have happened to boost the product's domestic popularity all of a sudden between October 23 and 29. And that something can only be the "Crackgate" debacle, which basically started within hours of the iPhone Duo's own highly anticipated release on, you guessed it, October 23.
This is just one of (way too) many iPhone Duo units cracked after just a few hours of use. | Image by Vishnu_RK on Reddit
Of course, no one's saying that the iPhone Duo's early adopters returned their devices or cancelled their orders to get a Galaxy Z Fold 8 instead in the space of just a few days. But it's very possible that undecided prospective buyers of both products had their choice made a lot easier by the worrying number of reports pointing to an extremely serious build quality vulnerability for the Z Fold 8's big rival.
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Compared to the previous week, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 apparently jumped by "more than" 20 percent in sales in South Korea after the iPhone Duo's commercial debut, which is not something that typically happens with nearly three-month-old handsets. There's no info from other markets suggesting similar box-office movements, mind you, but I definitely wouldn't be surprised to hear that the exact same thing has happened in the US and across the old continent too.
Z Fold 8 demand already grew thanks to the iPhone Duo... more than once
The iPhone Duo may not prove quite so successful as originally expected by so many experts, analytics firms, and likely, Apple itself. | Image by PhoneArena
And before you label this a local phenomenon with little to no impact on global demand, you might want to recall that Samsung confirmed a couple of weeks ago a 45 percent increase in the Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra's combined European sales during their first nine weeks of availability over the Z Fold 7 in a similar timeframe last year.
And while that number may look... not necessarily related to the iPhone Duo at first glance, Samsung reported a much smaller progress on the old continent for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8 over the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 for the pre-order window, so clearly, something (indirectly) boosted the mainstream appeal of the new Android-powered foldables in the months since.
So can the Z Fold 8 outsell the iPhone Duo after all?
That's still hard to believe... if we focus exclusively on the wide model, but if we take the Z Fold 8 together with its Ultra brother, I'm starting to think anything is possible.
With or without the iPhone Duo's vulnerabilities, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is clearly a hit. | Image by PhoneArena
It's pretty clear that Apple hasn't handled the "Crackgate" situation perfectly (to say the least) from a public perception and communication standpoint, and if the iPhone Duo's reliability problems continue to spread like wildfire without proper explanations, apologies, and ideally, some sort of fixes (which I'm afraid may not be possible until a second edition rolls out), Samsung could definitely pull off a feat that seemed utopian not that long ago.
Here are more articles about the Z Fold 8 and iPhone Duo that you might find interesting:
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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