Samsung’s new phones test consumer demand for pricey gadgets

Samsung aims to lift its sinking smartphone sales with three new models that will test consumer willingness to buy high-priced ggets during worst ecomic downturn since Great Depression.

latest Galaxy phones, unveiled Wednesday during an online showcase, will cost $1,000 to $1,300. Such prices are have become standard for top-of--line phones in recent years. But y might cause sticker shock at a time of double-digit unemployment that could last through at least end of year, as global ecomy struggles to recover from coronavirus pandemic.

Samsung is touting fancy phones, called Galaxy te20 and te20 Ultra, at a time that Apple is enjoying success with a $399 iPhone released in April . Google is also rolling out a $349 Pixel phone that has many of same features as its more expensive model. Such phones are intended for buyers who are strapped for cash or unwilling to pay for pricey phones that don’t offer big vances over ir predecessors.

Samsung also gave a glimpse of its second attempt at a phone with a foldable screen, but said it won’t have details on pricing and availability until Sept. 1. That phone, called Z Fold2, is expected to cost in range of $1,500 to $2,000, based on price for last year’s first-generation model.

“We kw se are challenging times, and people are depending on techlogy more than ever,” said TM Roh, president of Samsung’s mobile communications arm. He joked that new phones will help people “play harder when maybe y should be working harder,” a reference to millions of people w doing ir jobs at home.

Samsung is alrey struggling with an unsettling downturn. Its smartphone shipments plunged 29% from last year in April-June quarter, according to research firm International Data Corp. That drop helped China’s Huawei at least temporarily surpass Samsung as world’s top seller of smartphones while Apple remained in third place — although cheaper iPhone SE did boost Apple’s market share, IDC said.

Like or phone manufacturers, Samsung is hoping that a transition to new ultrafast “5G” wireless networks will drive demand for new phones; its latest models are 5G-compatible. In or respects, however, smartphone invation has largely stalled, a trend that predated pandemic shock.

upcoming foldable phone, meanwhile, is something of a do-over for Samsung. Z Fold2 has a front display screen so it can be carried around like a phone with an interior screen that can be opened up so it can be used like a mini-tablet, depending on what a user needs at time.

But Samsung’s first foldable phone last year turned out to be a flop, partly because it proved fragile even after company delayed its release by several months in an effort to deal with problem.

Samsung is promises that Z Fold2 will far more durable because it will have ultra-thin glass and tougher hinges for unfolding device.

Consumer response to se phones might foreshow demand for next wave of iPhones. Apple has indicated those will come out in October, a few weeks later than usual because of manufacturing delays caused by pandemic. next generation of iPhones are expected to cost in $700 to $1,200 range.

Samsung also anunced its next generation tablet, smartwatch and wireless earbuds.