Foldable Smartphone Shipments Market Growth Slows To 11% This Year

According to Taiwanese market research company Trend Force on the 22nd, global foldable smartphone shipments last year amounted to 15.9 million units, up about 25% from the previous year.

This figure corresponds to 1.4% of total smartphone shipments. By manufacturer, Samsung Electronics [005930], the ‘original foldable device’, took an overwhelming lead with a market share of 66.4%.

However, the market share decreased by about 13.6% compared to 2022 (80%).

Huawei, which is launching a new foldable smartphone, followed with 11.9%, and other Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo only had a single-digit share.

Meanwhile, Trend Force predicted that foldable smartphone shipments this year would amount to 17.7 million units, with the growth rate limited to 11%, less than half of last year, which would be slower than market expectations.

The company cited frequent breakdowns and high prices of foldable phones as the reason for slow growth, and diagnosed that the speed of development of the foldable smartphone market is linked to the decline in prices of ultra-thin glass (UTG) and hinges.

The proportion of foldable phones in the overall smartphone market is expected to exceed 2% next year. Samsung Electronics’ market share this year is expected to be 60.4%, and Huawei (19.8%), which is aggressively increasing foldable smartphone shipments, is expected to reach close to 20%.

Trend Force pointed out that while major smartphone manufacturers are introducing foldable smartphones one by one, it is still unclear whether Apple will participate in the market.

He added, “Many believe that Apple’s potential entry into the foldable smartphone market could greatly accelerate growth.”

See More:

Samsung Unveils ‘Galaxy Fit 3’ Screen Down 45% Fall Detection

SKT Enters AI Data Center Market Invests In Lambda

Improvement Of 5G Quality Evaluation Items: Focused Inspection Of Indoor And Rural Areas

A Patient with A Chip Implanted In His Brain Can Control The Mouse Using Just His Thoughts