Samsung pivots its foldable strategy ahead of Apple's entry

For years, Samsung maintained a rigid duality with its Flip and Fold lineups, betting that consumers preferred a tall, slim footprint. That strategy is now effectively dead. The company is scrambling to refresh its hardware identity, having teased a “new shape” that mirrors the squat proportions long expected from Apple’s own R&D labs. By moving toward a wider aspect ratio, Samsung is tacitly admitting that its previous design philosophy—once the industry gold standard—is no longer enough to fend off looming competition.

This shift brings a dose of irony to the foldable space. When Google launched the Pixel Fold or Oppo introduced the Find N, Samsung’s market dominance effectively marginalized those wider designs in favor of its own narrow, vertical approach. Now, the market leader is forced to backtrack, adopting the very aesthetics it once helped suppress. With Huawei already pushing the passport-shaped Pura X Max, Samsung no longer sets the rules; it is simply trying to remain relevant before Apple arrives to define the category on its own terms.