Samsung unveiled its latest folding phones at an event in New York on Wednesday. The new devices are premium models priced from $899 to almost $2,000 in the US, and there is a lot riding on their success. The South Korean company lost its crown as the top smartphone maker to Apple in 2023, and it’s facing mounting competition from Chinese rivals like Honor and Huawei. Meanwhile, the firm’s mainstay chip business has seen profits slump, partly thanks to a delay in supplying products to US AI chip champion Nvidia. But Samsung president and acting head of device experience TM Row said the company is betting big on AI in consumer products. Galaxy AI has become your very own humanlike AI companion, elevating the way you connect, create, and lead every single day. Samsung wants to take a leading role in artificial intelligence by partnering with major players like Google. At the same event, it launched smart watches fitted with the tech giants Gemini AI assistant. Analysts said the new handsets tackled some of the issues with earlier models, including reducing the bulk of the devices. Some said the slim new phones would help give Samsung’s whole range a premium sheen, but they cautioned that high prices mean foldable phones will remain a niche product. Right now, they account for just 1.5% of the smartphone market, according to data from research firm IDC.