Huawei to topple Samsung in the foldable smartphone market in H1

Huawei is expected to dethrone Samsung and take the No.1 spot in the foldable smartphone market in the first half of this year, according to market tracker DSCC on Monday.

FILE PHOTO: A Huawei logo is seen at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai, China February 23, 2021. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Huawei is expected to dethrone Samsung and take the No.1 spot in the foldable smartphone market in the first half of this year, according to market tracker DSCC on Monday.

Huawei will grab more than 40 percent of the foldable market share in the first quarter, DSCC forecast, armed with new releases of Mate X5 and Pocket 2. Samsung does not release new foldable phones until the second half of the year.

Samsung's shares will plunge to below 20 percent in the first quarter, the market tracer estimated.

The foldable smartphone market gained 33 percent on year in the fourth quarter of 2023, shipping out 4.2 million units.

"A strong performance from Huawei is expected to drive the Q1, 2024 foldable phone market to jump 105 percent year-on-year," the DSCC report said.

Samsung's newest Galaxy Z Flip 5, which launched in July 2023, maintained the bestselling model in Q4, followed by Huawei's Mate X4, Honor's Magic Vs2, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Oppo's Find N3 Flip.

DSCC forecasts Samsung to regain leadership in the latter half of the year.

Samsung Electronics pioneered the new form factor segment by releasing the first edition of Galaxy Fold in 2019. Its dominance in the foldable smartphone market has been largely unchallenged due to a lack of competitive models from rivals.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]