Samsung Set to Launch Affordable Galaxy Z FE Series, Expects Q1 Profits to Soar

Samsung is poised to introduce the Galaxy Z Fold FE and Galaxy Z Flip FE later this year, promising affordability in the foldable smartphone market. This announcement comes alongside a remarkable financial forecast, with the tech giant expecting a 931% profit surge in Q1 2024, buoyed by a rebound in memory chip prices and robust product sales.

Samsung's Upcoming Foldable FE Series: Affordable Innovation Meets Rumor Reality

Wccftech reports that according to a rumor from China, Samsung will launch the Galaxy Z Fold FE and the Galaxy Z Flip FE. Usually, it would be skeptical of such rumors, but these devices have been making the rounds of the internet for some time, and today's update lends credence to their existence.

Now that we know these devices exist let's look at what they offer. When folded, the Galaxy Z Fold FE measures 155.1 x 67.1 x 14.2 mm, while the Galaxy Z Flip FE measures 165.2 x 71.9 x 6.9 mm when opened. The Flip FE will be powered by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, while the Fold FE will use either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy or the Exynos 2200. The company wants to keep the cost of both foldable phones low.

Typically, one might approach rumors with skepticism. However, current speculation suggests that Samsung may introduce cost-effective foldable smartphones within the year. According to these rumors, the Galaxy Z Fold FE and Galaxy Z Flip FE are anticipated to be unveiled later in the year, separate from the primary foldable series expected to launch in July.

Samsung's Financial Rebound: Foreseeing a 931% Profit Surge in Q1 2024

When Samsung announced its Q1 2023 earnings call, it reported an abysmal $556.5 million operating profit, representing a staggering 96 percent decline from the previous quarter. At the time, the company's best days appeared behind it. However, similar to Huawei's comeback, the Korean behemoth quickly moved past all of the negatives and expects to report a whopping 931 percent profit in its upcoming Q1 2024 financials.

Samsung's preliminary statement provided insight into its potential earnings, estimating sales in the 70 trillion to 72 trillion Korean won range. In terms of profit, Samsung could earn up to 6.6 trillion Korean won, or $4.89 billion, representing a staggering 931 percent increase over the same period last year. As reported by CNBC, SK Kim, executive director and analyst at Daiwa Securities, explains why the Korean behemoth will report strong earnings in its upcoming Q1 2024 report.

"We forecast Samsung Electronics will post solid earnings for 1Q24 driven by memory price hikes and robust S24 sales, beating market estimates. We expect the strong AI-driven memory upturn cycle will drive earnings in 2024-25E."

Samsung's Strategic Pivot: Betting on AI and Dual-Chipset for Future Growth

On April 5, a source reported that Samsung's valuation had reached $370 billion, having previously reached this level in April 2021. Foreign investors appear optimistic about Samsung's future, having purchased an estimated $4.2 billion in stock. One of the reasons for Samsung's poor performance in 2023, despite being the world's largest DRAM chip maker, is that component prices fell last year due to excess inventory caused by the post-COVID-19 saga.

Furthermore, a decline in demand for computing products that use DRAM memory chips, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, resulted in lower earnings. With the AI era upon us, Samsung recently unveiled its next-generation HBM3E memory, an essential component for GPUs that NVIDIA is leveraging to maintain its dominance in the AI computing space. That's not all; the Korean conglomerate plans to launch its own AI accelerator, Mach-1, in 2025, competing with NVIDIA.

In short, Samsung intends to maintain this momentum while lowering costs by implementing a dual-chipset strategy for the Galaxy S25 series, which will debut next year. The strategy consists of the Exynos 2500 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.

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