A total of 4.2 million foldable smartphones were shipped in the last quarter of 2023, a 33% increase over the same period in 2022. As for this year, the analysts over at Display Supply Chain Consultants predict that the market is see some changes in power, at least temporarily.
The Top 5 most popular foldables are: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Huawei Mate X3, Honor Magic Vs2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 and the Oppo Find N3 Flip. The Top 10 chart includes four models from Samsung, two from Honor, two from Oppo and one from Huawei and Xiaomi.
In Q4 2023, Samsung was the market leader, even though sales of the Z Flip5 and Z Fold5 were below expectations. And now the Z-series is in a lull, since the arrival of the Z Flip6 and Z Fold6 grows near (rumor has it that the Unpacked event is scheduled for July to coincide with the Olympics).
The lull will allow Huawei to overtake Samsung for the first time, according to DCSS. This will be based on the success of the Huawei Mate X5 and the Huawei Pocket 2. Huawei’s rise is predicted to push the foldable market to double its size in Q1 compared to last year. Also, since the company is using BOE displays, this will allow BOE to overtake rival Samsung Display.
This situation will be a temporary swap, however, as Samsung is expected to regain the lead after the Galaxy Z Flip6 and Z Fold6 arrive (at the start of Q3). In fact, DCSS believes those two will perform so strongly that Samsung will be the overall leader in 2024.
Still, the forecast is for Huawei to gain market share this year compared to 2023. Meanwhile, Oppo and vivo will lose ground because they are not expected to bring out new clamshell foldables. And it’s all about the clamshells.
In addition to Samsung’s Flip, Huawei should release “at least” two new clamshells this year, Motorola and Honor will have new models as well. Altogether they will grow the market share of clamshells in 2024.