The Huawei Mate X4. Image: Huawei.
Huawei is on track to overtake Samsung in the foldable smartphone market. This was reported yesterday by the Phone Arena media, citing a report from the Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) firm.
Samsung and Huawei in the lead
The report indicates that in the last quarter of 2023, 4.2 million foldable smartphones were sold – a record in this segment. Samsung once again dominated this market over the period, with four of the ten best-selling foldable smartphone models coming from the Korean giant. However, sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 were lower than expected.
For their part, Huawei and its former subsidiary, Honor, gained market share over this period. Then follow the Chinese Oppo and Honor, with two models each. Huawei and Xiaomi each have a single model in the top 10 for foldable smartphone sales.
At the top of the ranking, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, followed closely by the Huawei Mate X4. The Honor Magic Vs2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Oppo Find N3 Flip models complete this top 5.
Huawei aims for first place thanks to its new models
But DSCC predicts a turnaround: Huawei should overtake Samsung in sales of foldable smartphones during the first quarter of 2024 thanks to its new models, the Mate X5 and the Pocket 2. For its part, Samsung will not unveil its new generation of foldable smartphones, which should include the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, before this summer.
Global foldable smartphone market share by vendor. Source: DSCC.
Honor is expected to follow and increase its influence in this segment this year. Oppo and Vivo, on the other hand, could lose market share. Indeed, the two brands do not plan to launch new foldable phone models this year.
The return of flip phones
Clamshell models are expected to gain prominence in the overall foldable smartphone market. Huawei should also launch two new models of this form this year. Honor, Motorola and Samsung are also preparing flip smartphones.
Furthermore, DSCC predicts that the global foldable smartphone market will grow by 105%, compared to last year, in the first quarter of 2024.
Source: ZDNet Korea