Foldable Smartphone Shipments Fall

While Samsung has dominated the premium foldable smartphone market, new research shows that the shipments of foldable smartphones is now falling.

Global foldable smartphone shipments declined 1% year-on-year decline in Q3 2024, following six consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth, according to Counterpoint Research.

This was also the first-ever Q3 decline in the segment’s history, which the research company attributed mainly to Samsung’s “relatively underwhelming performance” with its new Galaxy Z6 series. One of the main obstacles to growth of foldables is believed tp be their relatively steep pricing.

Samsung Galaxy Fold6 & Flip6

“The global foldable market appears to have entered a transitionary phase where it is facing challenges as it progresses from a niche segment to the mainstream,” said Jene Park, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint. “User satisfaction is particularly high with book-type foldable devices, but the prohibitively high prices remain the biggest obstacle to mass
adoption.”

Counterpoint found that Samsung regained its position as the global market leader with a 56% share, driven by the Z6 series launch in July. However, the brand’s unit shipments fell 21% year-on-year.

Among Samsung’s new models, the book-type Galaxy Z Fold6 delivered a modest performance, while the clamshell Galaxy Z Flip6 struggled to match its predecessor’s sales.

Samsung’s decline in market share came as competitors in China, mainly Huawei, have debuted devices such as trifolding Mate XT.

Huawei continued its year-on-year growth in foldable shipments, supported by its Mate X5 and Pocket 2 in China. Its newly launched budget-friendly Nova Flip, along with the Mate XT, were more experimental offerings and saw lower shipments than existing models. Counterpoint expects Huawei to drive further growth with the recent launch of the Mate X6.

Honor and Motorola remained among the fastest-growing brands in the foldable market. Samsung is increasingly facing strong competition from Moto with its full range of sub-$1000 Razr flip foldables, and from Honor which has its thin Magic V series book-type foldables.

Xiaomi recorded the highest YoY shipment growth among foldable brands at 185%. The growth was driven by the addition of its first clamshell model, the Mix Flip. The brand’s global shipment share rose to 6% in the third quarter, its highest since entering the foldable market in Q1 2021.