What They Say
DSCC has published its near term forecast for Samsung Z Flip 4/Fold 4 Production and ramp after Samsung said that it has had 970K pre-orders for the new foldables. DSCC believes that production is ahead of that number so there should be no increase in lead times.
- Z Flip 4 panel volumes are expected to be 51% higher than the Z Flip 3 through September at over 4 million.
- Z Fold 4 panel volumes are expected to be 88% higher through September vs. the Fold 3 at over 2.5 million.
While Korean demand is expected to remain strong, much of the growth is coming from Europe with:
- Z Flip 4: Europe/ROW coded models are expected to account for 37% of demand on a phone production basis through November followed by Korea at 29% and the US at 26%.
- Z Fold 4: Europe/ROW coded models are expected to be even more dominant with a 47% Share followed by the US at 24% and Korea at 22%.
What We Think
These are big numbers to hit if Samsung plans to keep manufacturing at this scale, given the level of forecasts for the set market, although, of course, there is some delay between panel production and a new handset getting to the consumer. (BR)