Introduction: Samsung says its newest book-style foldables are selling better than last year's model in Europe, but the headline comes with an important caveat: this year's figures combine two devices, while last year's benchmark was a single phone.
According to Samsung, the Galaxy Z Fold8 and Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra recorded a 45% sales increase across Europe during their first nine weeks on the market compared with the Galaxy Z Fold7 over the same nine-week period in 2025. Both handsets launched on August 7.
The company describes the result as "almost 50%", but that phrasing slightly rounds up the actual figure. It also suggests the early advantage may have narrowed since September, when Samsung previously highlighted a 50% lead.
The bigger caveat is the comparison itself. Last year, Samsung had one book-style Fold on sale; this year, it has two. Samsung has not provided model-by-model sales figures, so it is unclear whether either Fold8 individually outsells the Fold7. Combining the two new devices makes the year-over-year growth figure less direct than it first appears.
Samsung attributes the momentum to strong consumer interest and points to search behaviour as supporting evidence. Across 32 European markets, searches for Samsung foldables rose more than 260% in September compared with August. The sharpest increase was a 460% jump during the week of September 6-12.
That spike coincided with Apple's unveiling of its first foldable, the iPhone Duo, which goes on sale tomorrow. Rather than hurting Samsung, Apple's entry into foldables appears to have boosted broader curiosity in the category.
