Samsung Electronics plans to increase the production of foldable smartphones next year following the positive market response for Galaxy Fold, according to a top executive.

“We will significantly increase the sales of foldable smartphones next year,” Koh Dong-jin Koh, CEO of the mobile business unit, told reporters at the company’s two-day annual artificial intelligence forum on Nov. 5. “We are confident that consumers will see more foldable smartphones next year.”

Regarding the next-generation foldable smartphone, Koh said the company will make an announcement on the launch schedule when the timing is right.

The South Korean tech giant unveiled a rendering image of a clamshell-like foldable smartphone that folds in from top to bottom at its annual developer conference late last month.

It is rumored that the company has set a sales target of 6 million foldable smartphones next year. Although its sales of the first version of foldable phone released recently have fallen short of the initial target of 1 million, the device is considered to have paved the way for a new smartphone form factor.

The Galaxy Fold is scheduled to hit shelves in China on Nov. 8, stepping up competition with Huawei Technologies, which will launch its own foldable smartphone Mate X on Nov. 15.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)