On the eve of a new season of gadget launches, two of the world's great device makers have each placed a bet on thinness and premium craft. Samsung, which pioneered the foldable phone in 2019, now welcomes rivals into that market, believing a crowded field will grow the whole pie even as its own quarterly books still bleed. Apple, meanwhile, has brought touch and OLED light to its laptop, asking long-time users to rethink what a notebook can be. Both are sailing into rising memory costs that show no sign of easing, and whether a wealthier slice of buyers can carry the weight of those costs wil
Samsung Bets Thinner Foldables Can Grow the Market as Apple Adds a Touchscreen OLED MacBook Pro
Memory prices are expected to keep climbing into next year
Mark
Samsung is calling rivals entering foldables an opportunity. Why would it say that?
Mimi
Because it pioneered the category in 2019 with the Galaxy Fold. More makers in the space can validate it, and Samsung argues that if the market grows, it grows with it.
Mark
And the thin, lightweight focus is the lever?
Mimi
That's what Araujo said. Portability, leadership in thin foldables, and form factors matched to lifestyles.
Luke
Worth noting that's a strategy statement from an earnings call. The claim that Samsung is winning customers from competitors and younger users is Araujo's own account; no figures were given.
Mark
The numbers do look rough, though. A ₩600 billion loss.
Mimi
In the MX and Networks Division, yes, a swing from profit a year earlier. But it narrowed by ₩100 billion from the prior quarter, with higher-end foldables helping.
Luke
And the cause of that improvement is attributed to foldables, not broken out. We don't know how much they contributed.
Mark
Where does Apple fit in?
Mimi
Its new OLED MacBook Pro has touch controls, a thinner chassis, and starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch. Sales begin November 6.
Luke
The framing that the two are converging on slimness and new experiences is the publication's reading. Nothing here shows the companies responding to each other directly.
Mark
So the shared pressure is memory?
Mimi
Yes. Prices are expected to keep rising into next year, according to Araujo, so premium sales have to cover the cost.
Luke
That's a projection, and whether premium pricing absorbs it is still unknown.
Le Pouls
- Samsung's mobile division still lost ₩600 billion in the third quarter, a painful swing from last year's profit, even as the loss shrank by ₩100 billion.
- Memory chip prices keep climbing, and executives warn the squeeze will deepen through the fourth quarter and into next year.
- Samsung is betting that rivals entering the foldable market will expand demand, and it is pushing thin, light Galaxy Z Fold 8 models plus easier installment financing to win younger buyers.
- Apple's new OLED MacBook Pro with touch controls arrives at $2,899 for the 14-inch model, with sales opening November 6 and pre-orders already underway.
- Both companies are racing to protect margins by selling more expensive devices, and the outcome depends on whether premium demand can outrun rising component costs.
On the eve of a new season of gadget launches, two of the world's great device makers have each placed a bet on thinness and premium craft. Samsung, which pioneered the foldable phone in 2019, now welcomes rivals into that market, believing a crowded field will grow the whole pie even as its own quarterly books still bleed. Apple, meanwhile, has brought touch and OLED light to its laptop, asking long-time users to rethink what a notebook can be. Both are sailing into rising memory costs that show no sign of easing, and whether a wealthier slice of buyers can carry the weight of those costs will tell us much about where this industry is heading.
On October 29, during Samsung Electronics' third-quarter earnings call, Daniel Araujo of the MX division addressed a question that hangs over every company in the foldable space: what happens when rivals arrive? His answer was that Samsung intends to turn the crowd to its advantage, growing the market together by focusing on thin, lightweight designs. He did not pretend the pressure was small. Competition and structural change are unavoidable, he said, and Samsung's job is to prove the value of the category it created with the Galaxy Fold in 2019.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 series broadened the company's choices this year, and Araujo said the wider lineup has improved its product mix, drawing customers from rivals and winning over younger users. Samsung plans to keep pushing portability, pursue leadership in thin foldables, and make premium devices easier to buy through installment and financing plans.
The numbers remain uneasy. The MX and Networks division posted a ₩600 billion operating loss, a sharp turn from profit a year earlier, though it narrowed by ₩100 billion from the prior quarter on stronger high-end foldable sales. The harder challenge is cost. Memory supply has been tight since the fourth quarter of last year, and Araujo expects prices to keep climbing well into next year, a strain the whole industry will feel.
The day before, Apple introduced an OLED MacBook Pro with touch controls, letting users draw with their fingers or play software instruments directly on screen. The thinner OLED design, AI features, and up to 24 hours of battery life are meant to win over PC users. The 14-inch model starts at $2,899, and sales begin November 6.
Together, the two launches show premium devices shifting toward slimmer forms and new ways of interacting. Whether both companies can absorb rising memory costs through sales of higher-end products will shape their profits in the months ahead.
On October 29, during Samsung Electronics' third-quarter earnings call, Daniel Araujo, a senior vice president in the company's MX (Mobile eXperience) Division, told listeners that the crowd of new rivals entering the foldable smartphone market is something Samsung intends to use to its advantage. His plan is to grow the overall market by concentrating on thin, lightweight designs.
Araujo did not play down the pressure. He said intensifying competition and structural change across the industry are unavoidable. But he framed Samsung's task as proving the value of a market it pioneered in 2019, when it entered with the Galaxy Fold, and using that to lift sales in step with market growth. This year the company broadened its choices with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series.
According to Araujo, expanding the Z Fold 8 lineup in time to meet varied customer needs improved the product mix, which now centers on Fold models. He said Samsung made progress in drawing customers away from competing products and in winning younger users. Going forward, the company says it will keep working on portability, pursue leadership in thin, lightweight foldables, and develop form factors suited to how customers live. It also wants to ease the cost of buying through installment plans and financing programs, as part of a push into the premium tier built around the Galaxy S26 series and foldable devices.
The financial picture is mixed. The MX and Networks Division posted a consolidated operating loss of ₩600 billion, roughly $449.8 million, in the third quarter, a swing from a profit a year earlier. Against the previous quarter, though, the loss narrowed by ₩100 billion, about $75.0 million, or 14 percent, with higher-end foldable models helping support profitability.
Costs are the harder part. Araujo said memory supply has been tight and prices have been rising since the fourth quarter of last year, so cost burdens continue. He expects memory prices to keep climbing in the fourth quarter and through next year, straining the whole industry. He also said the pattern of falling smartphone unit sales alongside rising revenue will persist next year, and stressed that Samsung means to outperform a shrinking market.
A day earlier, on October 28, Apple unveiled a new MacBook Pro with an OLED display and touch controls, sharpening its rivalry with Samsung in premium devices. Users can operate the screen by touching it directly, whether drawing by tracing with a finger or playing software-based instruments. The OLED panel allows a thinner chassis. The machine is described as having advanced artificial intelligence features, support for the Siri voice assistant, and battery life of up to 24 hours.
The 14-inch model starts at $2,899 in the United States and ¥499,800, about $3,200, in Japan. The 16-inch model starts at $3,399 in the U.S. and ¥599,800, about $3,800, in Japan. Pre-orders opened October 28 in the U.S. and other markets and October 29 in Japan, with sales beginning November 6.
The two announcements suggest the competitive axis in premium devices is moving toward slimmer designs and new ways of operating them. Samsung is using thin, light foldables to attract younger users and customers from competitors, while Apple is trying to hold onto existing PC users with a touch-enabled OLED notebook. With memory prices still rising, whether each company can absorb higher component costs through sales of higher-end models will likely shape its profitability.
Citations marquantes
Intensifying competition and structural change across the industry are unavoidable.— Daniel Araujo, senior vice president, Samsung MX Division
The trend of declining smartphone unit sales but rising revenue will continue next year.— Daniel Araujo, Samsung Electronics
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