Samsung has all but confirmed that Apple's entry into foldables is lifting its own foldable business. In a new blog post, Samsung UK says combined European sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are up 45 percent compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and that search volume for the Z8 series across Europe spiked 460 percent during the week of September 6 to 12.
The iPhone Duo was announced on September 9 — right in the middle of that window. Samsung never names Apple or the iPhone Duo in the post, but Ars Technica notes the timing, and the numbers line up with earlier analyst expectations that Apple's foldable would drag new buyers into the category.
Galaxy Z8 sales and search numbers
The clearest signal is the Fold, not the Flip. Samsung is not discussing Galaxy Z Flip 8 sales, and it previously said its larger foldables made up about 80 percent of its foldable purchases. Ars Technica reads the silence as a sign that any Z Flip 8 bump was not impressive enough to mention, possibly because Apple did not release a flip-style phone.
Samsung also has not shared updated US figures since saying last month that Galaxy Z8 preorders were trending 30 percent higher than a year earlier, and it is not breaking out how the standard Z Fold 8 compares with the Z Fold 8 Ultra. Third-party reports have claimed Samsung was ramping up production, especially of the wider, iPhone-like Z Fold 8.
- Combined European sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra: up 45 percent versus the Galaxy Z Fold 7
- Search volume for the Z8 series in Europe: up 460 percent during the week of September 6 to 12
