Foldable phones could be game changer in lackluster smartphone market

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 [Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

Expectations grow that foldable smartphones could be a game changer after their sales have jumped this year, bucking the overall softening smartphone demand amid cooling consumption from a delay in phone replacement and an economic downturn.

According to market tracker Counterpoint Research on Tuesday, global shipments of foldable smartphones stood at about 6.08 million units in the third quarter of this year ended September, a 63 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. The proportion of foldable phones in the total global smartphone sales surpassed 2 percent for the first time in the same period when overall smartphone shipments declined due to economic downturns. Global smartphone shipments are expected to be worth 1.24 billion units this year, down 11 percent from a year ago.

The rise in foldable phone shipments was mainly driven by an increase in demand for fold-type devices with the seam folded right over left or left over right. Shipments of such devices soared by 88 percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago. In particular, shipments of Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 launched in August leaped by more than 60 percent compared to its predecessor.

According to Hana Securities, the cumulative sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 amounted to 1.79 million units at the end of November, up 74 percent versus the previous edition (1.03 million units). Sales volume of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 grew 28 percent from 2.17 million units to 2.77 million units, showing a remarkable increase compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 4 during the same period.

Chinese manufacturers also contributed to the growth of the foldable phone market. Oppo and Honor recently launched new foldable phones and announced that they would sell them to more countries beyond China.

Sources said Google may join the growing market sector by launching its first foldable smartphone dubbed Pixel Fold during its annual developer conference I/O to be held in May next year.