The foldable that breaks all the records
Samsung has once again shown that the foldable format wasn’t a passing fad. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 series, together with its younger brother the Flip 8, has accumulated 1.44 million reservations in South Korea during the pre-order period, a figure that pulverises the historic record held by the Galaxy Note 10 since 2019. The data, published by the Yonhap agency, also confirms that demand keeps growing just days before the reservation window ends next 7 August.
A record that had stood for seven years
To put the figure in context, the Galaxy Note 10 achieved 1.38 million reservations in its day, a mark that seemed unbeatable. None of the series launched since then — not even the Galaxy S26, which stopped at 1.35 million — managed to come close. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 not only beats that barrier: it leaves it far behind and keeps adding orders while Samsung tries to manage a demand that has exceeded all its forecasts.
The comparison with the previous generation is even more eloquent. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 barely exceeded a combined million reservations at the time, which means the new models are selling roughly three times better. It’s a huge leap for a category that many analysts had written off as stagnant barely two years ago.
Why the Fold 8 has hooked the public
The success doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Samsung has bet on a thinner and lighter form factor, with an improved hinge that reduces the visible crease of the inner screen and an overall design that gets closer to a conventional phone when closed. Added to that are the performance improvements of the new processor, a more generous battery and a photography department that no longer has to apologise next to traditional flagships.
But there’s an additional ingredient that explains the enthusiasm: launch prices and trade-in offers. Samsung has kept aggressive conditions in this pre-order, and the result is that many users who were waiting for foldables to drop in price have decided to take the plunge now. The commercial strategy has worked, although it has created a capacity problem: Samsung’s website came to show loading delays and the company has had to delay the delivery of part of the orders.
The ultra-thin glass bottleneck
Demand has been so high that Samsung has had to ask its ultra-thin glass (UTG) suppliers to increase production mid-way through the reservation period, something unprecedented in the company’s history. The delivery dates of the most recent orders have been pushed to the end of August, and even some models could arrive in October.
This kind of bottleneck is a curious indicator of the state of the industry: the component limiting the production of Samsung’s best-selling foldables isn’t the processor or the memory, but the thin sheet of glass that protects the flexible screen. The supply chain of this component remains one of the critical points of the whole sector.
What it means for the European market
The South Korea data, Samsung’s domestic market and traditionally the most loyal to foldables, don’t guarantee identical behaviour in Europe, where price is a much more determining factor. However, the reservations record suggests that interest in the format is at its historic best moment and that the Korean company has finally found the formula that combines design, performance and an attractive price.
Analysts are already wondering whether the next step will be seeing these numbers also reflected in Spain and the rest of Europe when the devices reach the shops. If demand holds, Samsung could beat its own foldable sales record in the third quarter of the year, consolidating the Fold series as the most profitable product in its premium catalogue.
A bet that confirms itself
When Samsung launched the first Galaxy Fold in 2019, the foldable format was a risky bet full of technical problems. Seven years later, the Z Fold series has become the brand’s aspirational flagship and the engine of its premium business. The Fold 8 reservations record is the best proof that Samsung’s patience with a complex and expensive technology has finally paid off.
It remains to be seen whether the company will be able to resolve the supply problems and whether the rest of the manufacturers, which have been gradually joining the foldable format, can keep up. For now, this summer’s story has a clear protagonist: the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has arrived to stay, and it has done so breaking records.
