Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip flies off shelves on first day

Samsung Electronics’ foldable phone Galaxy Z Flip went on sale online and offline in Korea on Friday, with some online vendors selling out within 30 minutes.

It started taking preorders for its new flagship smartphone series Galaxy S20 the same day.

The Galaxy Z Flip is available at Samsung’s official website and branches of major mobile carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus.

Earlier in the day, LG Uplus said Z Flip models sold out 30 minutes after launching Friday.

In the first week of its release, the first batch of Samsung’s new foldable smartphone here is expected to reach some 20,000 devices -- 10 times greater than that of the company’s first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, released last year.

Samsung has lowered the price of its new foldable phone to 1.6 million won. The first foldable model was priced at more than 2 million won.

The price drop and increased supply will help the new smartphone’s performance, according to industry sources.

Samsung’s first foldable phone was popular when it was released last year, though it was expensive and difficult to come by, as the company released only a limited amount.

The Galaxy S20 can be preordered on e-commerce platforms 11Street and Coupang until Feb. 26.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)