It looks like Samsung is expecting big things from the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, with the phone seemingly expected to sell far better than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3.

That’s according to Ross Young (a leaker with an excellent track record) who claims that Samsung is planning to build 8.7 million display panels for the phone in 2022, compared to 5.1 million for the Z Flip 3 in 2021.

These are screens, not units of the phone itself, which since these handsets have two displays that number might not translate to actual expect sales. But either way, that suggests far more units of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 will be built in its launch year than there were of the Z Flip 3.

This leak also gives us an idea of when the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 might land, as Young claims that panel shipments will begin in April, which is the same timing as we saw for the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 last year.

That suggests the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is on schedule and will probably land around a year after the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3, meaning in or around August.

Samsung Display is expected to begin panel shipments for the Z Flip 4 next month, same timing as the Z Flip 3 last year. But panel shipments are expected to be much larger. Expecting 8.7M panels in 2022 for the Z Flip 4 vs. 5.1M for the Z Flip 3 in 2021.March 15, 2022

Analysis: what makes the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 so special?

What this leak lacks are any insights into why the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 is expected to sell so well, but we can take a good guess.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the company’s most popular foldable according to a report from Display Supply Chain Consultants, so the new model was always likely to do well – despite the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold range arguably being the better phones.

The reason for that seems obvious – you can actually buy a Galaxy Z Flip 3 without having to take out a second mortgage. So price will likely be a big factor in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4’s expected success.

But that doesn’t tell us why Samsung expects it to do even better than the current model. Our guess though is that Samsung will avoid the yearly price rises we see from some phone ranges, and offer the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 at roughly the same price – or an even lower one – than the Z Flip 3.

It could do that by making this a minimal upgrade on the current model, which there’s evidence it will be, as other leaks suggest that while the likes of the camera and battery may be improving, they’ll only be getting a slight boost, and the overall device might be very similar.

So the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 probably won’t be the most exciting foldable phone of 2022 – and that’s essentially why it might be the best-selling one.