Apple’s first foldable was supposed to hurt Samsung. In South Korea, the opposite happened, at least for one week. Galaxy Z Fold 8 sales rose more than 20 percent in the week of October 23 to 29 compared with the week before, according to local telecom industry figures reported by The Korea Herald on November 3. That was the first week Apple’s iPhone Duo went on sale in South Korea.
The timing is hard to ignore. The Duo reached stores on October 23, and reports of its inner display cracking started surfacing almost immediately, an issue our own coverage has followed since the first days after launch. Samsung’s rival foldable, already selling well, suddenly sold faster. GSMArena, SamMobile, and Korea JoongAng Daily all carried the same Korea Herald figures this week, and Samsung has moved to take advantage, extending signups for its New Galaxy AI Subscription Club by a month, to November 30.
What the 20 percent figure actually measures
Before crowning a winner, read the fine print. The 20 percent rise describes one model, in one country, over one week, measured against the previous week. Samsung has not released absolute unit numbers, so a 20 percent jump could sit on a large base or a modest one. Telecom industry tallies are a useful proxy for retail demand, not audited shipment figures, and they say nothing yet about the United States or Europe.
There is also a second explanation that has nothing to do with cracked screens. Korean carriers raised their subsidies for the Fold 8 in the same window, with KT moving on October 21 and SK Telecom and LG Uplus following on October 22, pushing maximum support to 600,000 won on eligible premium plans. Cheaper phones sell more phones. The honest reading is that screen worries, subsidies, and the general attention around foldables probably all pushed in the same direction at once.
The price gap in Korea is enormous
Price is the other half of this story. In South Korea, the iPhone Duo costs 3.29 million won for the 256GB model, while the Galaxy Z Fold 8 costs 2,278,100 won for the same storage. That is a gap of roughly 1 million won, or about $750, before any shop discounts or carrier support. For a buyer choosing between two foldables in a Seoul store, the Samsung is not just the safer seeming option, it is the much cheaper one.
| 256GB model in South Korea | List price | Approximate USD |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone Duo | 3,290,000 won | About $2,451 |
| Galaxy Z Fold 8 | 2,278,100 won | About $1,700 |
| Gap | About 1,011,900 won | About $750 |
This is not the first time the Duo has boosted its rival. When Apple unveiled the Duo in September, Fold 8 sales in Korea rose about 10 percent week on week, as shoppers saw Apple’s price and bought Samsung instead. The October jump looks like the same pattern, repeated louder, once the phone was actually in stores and its display problems were in the news.
Samsung was already winning the launch
Context matters here. The Galaxy Z8 series set a record for Samsung smartphone preorders in Korea, with about 1.44 million units during its week long preorder period in July. In Europe, Samsung says the Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra together beat Fold 7 sales by 45 percent. The Duo did not rescue a struggling product, it accelerated one that was already ahead.
Apple, for its part, is still struggling to make enough Duos. Wait times remain long, and Apple has confirmed replacements for cracked displays while declining to explain what is breaking them. TrendForce still expects the Duo to take nearly 30 percent of the foldable market in 2027, so one strong week for Samsung is not a verdict on the year. But for buyers deciding now, the message from Korea is clear: the established foldable got cheaper, more subsidized, and easier to buy, exactly when its new rival got harder to trust. Read our guide to the Duo’s crack warning signs, how to get a Duo sooner despite the 89 day wait, and TrendForce’s forecast for the Duo’s 2027 market share.
