Research firm
Trend Strength forecasts that global growth
foldable phone the market will slow down this year to 11%. That would represent a significant slowdown from the 25% year-over-year growth in shipments the foldable industry saw last year. With 15.9 million foldable phones shipped in 2023, the sector accounted for 1.4% of overall global smartphone shipments last year.
TrendForce predicts that shipments of foldable products will increase to 17.7 million units in 2024, which would increase the market share of foldable phones at 1.5% of the global market. By 2025, foldables will account for 2% of industry shipments.
The report cites two reasons for the slowdown foldable phone shipments. The first reason, according to TrendForce, is that consumer retention is low because new owners of these devices have experienced maintenance issues with these phones. According to the report, this has led to a “lack of confidence” in foldables. The result, according to the report, is that consumers are not buying a second foldable and are instead turning to flagship phones.
Huawei's new Pocket 2 clamshell is equipped with four cameras
The second reason is related to the price of these phones. Prices have yet to “reach the ideal level for consumers,” TrendForce says. The report notes that mass production of key components such as ultra-thin glass and hinges could help drive down their prices, eventually leading to lower costs for consumers. Additionally, Chinese panel suppliers are increasing their shipments and these companies are charging less for their foldable panels than Korean display companies such as Samsung Display and LG Display.
Foldable Market Share 2023 and Forecast 2024
Samsung remains the leader in foldables despite a market share which fell from 80% in 2022 to 70% in 2023. Although it is constantly under pressure thanks to American sanctions, Huawei has carved out a nice small percentage of the foldable market. foldable which amounts to 12%. % Last year. This surpassed Huawei's domestic rivals such as Xiaomi, Oppo and
Vivo; the global market shares of folding trios are all less than 10% each.
For this year, Trend Force expects Samsung to remain in the lead with 60.4% of the foldable device market, and Huawei, which just announced its quad-camera Pocket 2 clamshell, aims to take 19.8%. market with aggressive shipments of its foldable devices. . Huawei is also rumored to be working on a trifold foldable, just like Samsung, which could give the foldable market a much-needed boost.
