Worldwide shipments of foldable phones are expected to reach 13.5 million units by the end of the year, a leap of 66.6 per cent over last year’s 8.1 million.

International Data Corporation projects that foldable phone shipments will reach 41.5 million units in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 38.7 per cent each year until 2026.

Next year will bring 55.1 per cent growth for foldables, according to IDC.

The huge growth has been led by Samsung’s Flip and Fold lineup, and will continue as the likes of Motorola and other competitors launch within the space.

“The recent launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 will once again shine a spotlight on the entire category as Samsung continues to be the gold standard for foldable devices in the market,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

“The new launches from Samsung have brought incremental but critical improvements over their predecessors.

“The success of these devices should be a strong indicator of how foldables will evolve and capture consumers moving forward.”

Despite these strong projections, Nabila Popal, research director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, doesn’t see foldable phones becoming mainstream anytime soon.

“To me, mainstream means volume, and volume is dominated by cheaper, sub-$400 phones,” Popal explains.

“While it may be tempting for vendors to swoop in with lower selling prices to generate an initial boost in sales, I strongly believe that is not a good move – especially not at the expense of quality and user experience.

“Foldables should remain a niche and premium flagship device. Instead, vendors should focus on improving user experience and building to increase confidence in the category and generate long-term growth.

“I believe foldables are the future of premium Android devices even if, as a whole, they are only expected to capture less than 3 per cent of global volume by the end of our forecast period.”