Samsung is on a bit of a deadline. The company has had a good run at establishing itself in the foldables market, giving it the chance to refine the design of the Fold and the Flip. It has managed to get through seven years of product launches – not bad for a device that many people thought was doomed before it even went on sale. Though the fact that reviewers were peeling the screens off the first generation of phones wasn’t a great start.
Folding phones have remained somewhat of a niche product, but that could be about to change. With Apple said to be planning its own foldable device, there are expectations that the market is about to take a leap.
You can’t blame Samsung for feeling the pressure. It is hard to make an impact in the mobile market these days, with consumers increasingly immune to the hype cycle as the leaps between devices have become smaller and the cost of upgrading even greater.
At the launch of the redesigned Fold 8 – arguably the most interesting of all the devices Samsung unveiled at this week’s event, even if they slapped an “Ultra” label on one of the three phones – the company tried to whip the enthusiasm up a notch or two.
[ Samsung doubles down on folding phones and AI ahead of smart glasses launchOpens in new window ]
It brought out a supporting cast that included a cameo from Spider-Man actor Jacob Batalon, and a brief appearance from Spider-Man himself.
There was AI and lots of it. AI-generated accident-prone hamsters were drafted in to drop phones and demonstrate Samsung’s extended insurance plan. The life-changing magic of AI features and the tie-in with Google was a major talking point.
But is it enough?
Samsung may have a backup plan. The South Korean tech giant is going all in on AI, signing up not only with Google to push more of the technology into our daily lives, but also moving into smart glasses – currently an area where Meta has been investing in, and one where Apple is also thought to have plans.
The glasses, Samsung promises, will bring AI to where you need it most. Where exactly that is, mind you, is still up for debate. A bit of photo editing, yes; facial recognition, no thanks. Ultimately, that may be a harder sell than a folding phone, no matter who is making it.
