Motorola dethrones samsung in foldable race as razr sales skyrocket
Counterpoint Research just dropped a bombshell: Motorola now sells 44.1% of all foldables in North America, up from 30.1% in 2024, while Samsung’s share slipped from 65.6% to 50.9%. The gap between first and second place has narrowed to a razor-thin 6.8 percentage points—unthinkable two years ago when Samsung towered alone.
The carrier blitz that flipped the market
Walk into any Verizon or T-Mobile store today and the foldable table looks nothing like 2023. Razr Ultra demos sit eye-level, staff wear Motorola-logo lanyards, and banners scream “$700 off—no trade-in required.” Samsung’s Z Flip 7, by contrast, launched at $1 099 with paltry instant rebates and a half-hearted FE variant that arrived three months late and $50 over target.
Motorola’s retail carpet-bombing worked. Unit shipments jumped 47% year-over-year, cannibalizing Samsung’s own upgraders more than converting Apple loyalists. The math is brutal: for every five shoppers who bought a Galaxy Z Flip in 2024, two picked up a Razr in 2025.
Apple’s shadow looms larger than the actual phone
Industry chatter fixates on an “iPhone Fold” launching this fall, yet the mere rumor is already reshaping inventory plans. Best Buy cut Samsung foldable orders by 18% for Q3, according to internal SKU lists viewed by TechBloom. Amazon’s pricing algorithm now tags Razr Ultra at sub-$800 weeks before Prime Day—pre-emptive panic, not charity.
Google feels the squeeze too. Pixel 10 Pro Fold sales surged 52%, but absolute volume remains a rounding error: 4.8% share, barely enough to secure shelf space. One carrier merchandiser laughed, “We order more Pixel cases than Pixel Folds.”
Samsung’s last gambit: a wider fold and a narrower window
Leaked roadmaps show a Galaxy Z Fold 8 “Wide” variant penciled for October, chasing iPad-mini loyalists. The problem: early bill-of-materials estimates price it at $2 199, $200 north of the current Fold 7. Samsung’s mobile division needs a hit, yet seems allergic to the only lever that still moves units—price.
Meanwhile Motorola preps a $749 Razr (2026) with IPX8 water resistance and wireless charging, features Samsung once reserved for flagships. If that model lands before the holidays, Counterpoint analysts project Samsung could slide to third place in North America by mid-2027, even before Apple ships a single foldable.
The takeaway is stark: foldables are no longer a tech demo for early adopters; they’re a commodity slugfest fought on retail floors, not keynote stages. Samsung built the category, but Motorola just proved that clever distribution beats pioneering prestige—at least until Cupertino walks in and rewrites the rules again.