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Android-powered foldable phones have been available for years, but most people never paid attention to them. As predicted, that could be changing now that Apple has entered the folding phone market with the iPhone Duo. Analysts have speculated that Samsung’s Z8 foldables were seeing a boost from the iPhone announcement, and now Samsung has seemingly confirmed that. In a new blog post, Samsung UK crows that the company’s 2026 foldable lineup is moving much faster than last year’s models. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, combined European sales for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are up 45 percent. Samsung isn’t talking about Z Flip 8 sales, but it previously noted that its larger foldables made up about 80 percent of foldable purchases. We can assume any increase there is not impressive enough to mention. The reason for flat Z Flip sales may simply be that Apple didn’t release a flip phone. Unsurprisingly, Samsung doesn’t mention Apple or the iPhone Duo in its press release. However, it does say that search volume for the Z8 series across Europe spiked 460 percent the week of September 6 to 12. And guess what was announced on September 9? Yep, the iPhone Duo. Z Fold 8 search volume across the entire month of September (when the phones launched) was up 260 percent. Samsung noted last month that US preorders for the Galaxy Z8 series were trending 30 percent higher than last year, but it hasn’t confirmed any updated numbers for the US market. This meshes with third-party reports, which claimed Samsung was ramping up foldable manufacturing, particularly of the wider, iPhone-like Z Fold 8. The company isn’t talking about the proportion of Z Fold 8 versus Z Fold 8 Ultra sales, but it seems likely that Samsung’s wider foldable is doing better in the wake of Apple’s foldable announcement.
document fetched 2026-10-23 20:27 · canonical https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/10/samsung-all-but-confirms-iphone-duo-is-goosing-galaxy-z8-sales