The growth in sales of folding smartphones is on the rise: it would be 50% in 2023 compared to 2022, according to forecasts by the firm IDC. If these models tend to be democratized, they would still need a good number of years before imposing themselves on the market.
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are the benchmarks for foldable smartphones to date. But that would be putting aside the Oppo Find N2 Flip which achieved critical success, for its first folding model in France. The analysis firm IDC has released a report on the foldable smartphone market: it expects more than 48 million units to be shipped in 2027, for a market of 42 billion dollars.
When the market is down, folding smartphones do well
It’s no secret: in 2022, smartphone sales fell by 11%. As proof, all the major manufacturers have seen their sales decline. But for the firm IDC, this is not the case for folding models, according to him, this success puts “highlight a healthy demand for these growing smartphones.This even as these particular phones see their prices drop more and more. If the latest models are all displayed at more than 1000 euros, you can find previous versions at increasingly attractive prices.
Additionally, IDC concluded that the average sale price fell by 6.8% in 2022. The firm says it found “vast improvements in durability and construction, while the overall user experience has been enhanced through software and hardware advancements across all vendors.In 2023, no less than 21.4 million units would be sold.
How many foldable smartphones sold in 5 years?
What should give a boost to the folding smartphone market is the proliferation of models on offer. If today Samsung is the essential reference, we expect Oppo next year, but also Honor with its Magic Vs, the Pixel Fold, but also obviously Samsung with its Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
IDC forecasts a decline in the global smartphone market in 2023, with a decline of 1.1%. But on the folding side, this should not be the case: it could increase by 50% in just one year. In 2027, folding smartphones could represent 3.5% of the total market, with 48.1 million units sold. A percentage which therefore remains low compared to the total market.
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