This year, the foldable phone market is expected to enter a full-fledged growth trend. The foldable smartphone market, led by Samsung Electronics, is expected to record more than twice the sales volume compared to last year as a large number of Chinese companies such as Xiaomi and Oppo entered the market this year.
According to DSCC, a global market research firm, shipments of foldable and rollable smartphones are expected to exceed 5.1 million this year. Of these, 3 million units are expected to be shipped in the fourth quarter of this year. Last year, global foldable phone sales were 2.2 million units, an increase of about 1000% compared to the previous year.
In addition, as a form factor, foldable phones that fold on both sides like the’Galaxy Z Fold’ are expected to increase from 39% of total sales last year to 49% this year.
■ Samsung to launch at least 3 foldable phones in the second half of this year
The foldable smartphone market is currently led by Samsung Electronics. Samsung Electronics is planning to open the era of popularization of foldables by launching ▲Galaxy Z Fold 2 ▲Galaxy Z Flip last year, starting with’Galaxy Fold’ in 2019.
According to DSCC, Samsung Electronics occupied 87% of the foldable smartphone market last year. The most sold foldable smartphone was the Galaxy Z Flip, which accounted for half of the entire foldable market, followed by the Galaxy Z Fold 2.
Samsung Electronics is expected to release at least three foldable smartphones in the second half of this year, including ▲Galaxy Z Flip 2 (tentative name) ▲Galaxy Z Fold 3 (tentative name) ▲Galaxy Z Flip Lite (tentative name). Recently, according to Nikkei Asia, news is reported that Samsung Electronics will be able to release a foldable smartphone that folds twice at the end of this year. It is reported that Samsung plans to produce 8 to 10 million foldable panels this year.
According to DSCC, Samsung Electronics is expected to occupy 81% of the foldable phone market this year. The sales share is expected to record 76%.
■ China’s Xiaomi and Opo also appear… Will Google release it at the end of this year?
Chinese smartphone manufacturers are also jumping into the foldable smartphone market this year. According to the industry, Xiaomi is planning to unveil its first foldable smartphone’Mimix 4 Pro Max (tentative name)’ on the 29th. According to Chinese media, the smartphone is known to have recently received 3C certification, an electronic device certification from the Chinese government.
According to the leaked photos, the smartphone is expected to be an in-folding smartphone that folds in a similar shape to the Galaxy Z Fold 2. It is reported to be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset and an 8.03-inch display of CSOT, a subsidiary of TCL.
According to local media in China, Oppo is expected to launch its first foldable smartphone as early as late June or July. Oppo unveiled the concept phone of’Opo X 2021′, a rollable smartphone last year, but it is predicted that the new form factor phone that Oppo releases will be a foldable smartphone rather than a rollable smartphone.
Oppo’s foldable smartphone is 7.7 inches when unfolded in a clamshell shape that folds up and down like the Galaxy Z flip, and the external screen size is known to be 1.5 to 2 inches.
It is predicted that Google will also release a foldable smartphone at the end of this year. There has been a report that Google has ordered a 7.6-inch foldable OLED panel that is the same size as the Galaxy Z Fold 2 from Samsung Display.
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Huawei unveiled its third foldable smartphone,’Mate X2′ in February. The Mate X2 is Huawei’s first foldable smartphone to apply the in-folding method and is currently sold only in the domestic market.
“Samsung is the most advanced in terms of technology of foldable phones,” said Lim Soo-jeong, a researcher at Counterpoint Research. “As Samsung continues to test the fold and flip form factors and observe the market response, the competition among OEMs to find the optimal form factor to lead the future smartphone market is heating up,” he said.