Samsung is undoubtedly the company that has influenced the most leaflet market. The Galaxy Fold, in particular, has captured the majority of the market and in 2022 the Korean company has occupied around 80% of this sector. But it is in the last period that the demand for foldable phones has exploded and the number of phones shipped is expected to rise to 17.7 million by 2024.
With increasing competition, however, Samsung must work hard to maintain its market position. Huawei in particular represents a serious threat, given that its market shares have grown rapidly in recent times. Let’s see in more detail what is happening.
The niche of leaflets
Samsung has remained the leading choice for foldable devices, but with increased competition that could change. Huawei, for example, took everyone by surprise when in the first quarter of 2024 it overtook the South Korean giant to become the main manufacturer of foldables. If that wasn’t alarming enough, Trendforce’s analysis also highlighted Samsung’s significant decline in market share, which is down 10% year-on-year and now struggling to maintain that 50%.
Although the market infiltration of the foldable segment is quite small, accounting for only 1.5% of the entire smartphone industry, the situation may change in a few years. By 2028, the sector is expected to occupy almost 5% of the entire mobile sector. However, foldable still remains a niche and seems to lag behind other types of phones.
Samsung’s declining market position may be due to Huawei’s rapid progress with its Pocket S in 2023. This helped the company go from a 3% market share to 12% in the first quarter of 2024. It even launched 5G-enabled models, such as the Pocket 2 and Mate X5, with plans to make a take another step forward by launching the world’s first tri-fold phone later this year. All the initiatives on the foldable front could lead Huawei to undermine the position that Samsung has held for a long time.
Other foldable companies such as Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi have had slow growth in the industry and have not even reached the 1 million unit milestone. Motorola stood out with its Razr 40 and Razr 40 Ultra by going beyond this figure and also gaining 6% of the shares. But otherwise we saw little or nothing. Rumors about Apple have also been circulating for some time, but at the moment there is nothing concrete. What is certain is that if the Cupertino company decided to enter the segment it could have a drastic impact on the market and cause Samsung to lose even more shares.
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