Samsung's foldables consistently missed the mark in the last few years. That finally changed with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in 2025, with the company unveiling a significantly thinner and lighter design. Unsurprisingly, that led to the Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 receiving record preorders. This year, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, Z Fold 8 Ultra, and Z Flip 8 are repeating that success, registering a record number of preorders.
In South Korea, Samsung received 1.44 million preorders for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Flip 8 in just seven days (via Korea JoongAng Daily). That's the highest number of preorders the company has ever received for any of its phones, including those from the Galaxy S and Note series.
By comparison, the Galaxy S26 series received 1.35 million preorders earlier this year. The Galaxy Note 10, which launched in 2019 and was the last of its lineup, held the record for the most preorders at 1.38 million units. Based on the numbers, Samsung sold approximately 143 units per minute during the preorder period.
The carrier data also indicates that more customers are switching from a regular smartphone to a foldable this time around.
Samsung's foldables are finally going mainstream
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 fueled the record preorders, accounting for 70% of the total orders. The foldable's compact, wider form factor appears to have clicked with consumers. This also matches up with a recent rumor, which claimed that the regular Z Fold 8 was crushing the Ultra in preorders.
While the preorder numbers are only for South Korea, the strong demand for Samsung's new foldables likely also extends to the US and other markets.
The strong demand for the compact Z Fold 8 has already led Samsung to increase production. The strong consumer interest is even more notable because the new foldables cost more than their predecessors, all thanks to the ongoing DRAM and NAND shortage. And unlike before, the company did not even offer attractive trade-in deals to offset the higher prices.
Samsung will likely continue seeing strong demand for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Z Fold 8 Ultra until around early September when Apple unveils the first foldable iPhone. Its launch should be the tipping point for the foldable segment, potentially helping it become mainstream.