The shipments of foldable smartphones are expected to double this year, according to a research firm. Unfortunately for Samsung, the dominating power in the market, this increase would mean a threat to its position. Aside from Huawei, which is expected to outrank it, the entire smartphone manufacturing force of China could reduce the shares of the South Korean giant in the said market.
The increase in the shipments of foldable units will be possible through the growing participation of brands investing in the said form factor. Research firm Counterpoint Research claims that the shipment of foldables could reach 1 million this year, with Chinese brands continuously making an effort to create a chip in Samsung’s large share. In earlier reports, Huawei was predicted as Samsung’s main challenger, with the DSCC saying that the Chinese company would outrank Samsung in the first half of 2024.
Despite this, Counterpoint Research noted that Samsung would stay on its throne.
“Samsung’s lead is due to its first-mover advantage,” said Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint (via Economic Times). “Its products are now in their fifth generation, while others such as OnePlus and Oppo are only out with their first-generation offering.
“Samsung has iterated enough to understand these consumer needs and has worked with popular apps such as Instagram to tweak the software for the newer form factor.”
According to Pathak, pricing remains one of the challenges for Chinese smartphone brands in this industry.
“Pricing is the biggest barrier for the Chinese players. Foldables are going for around $1200-1300, while Chinese brands have technically not sold anything beyond $600-700 apart from OnePlus. So there is a big delta for them to cross,” Pathak added.
