With Motorola set to release a new Razr foldable smartphone in Australia this week, archrival Samsung who are the global market leader with the Flip and Fold devices has decided not to move into the slidable phone market due in part to functional problems.
According to recent reports, research shows that consumers are happy with their Flip and Fold devices and the concept of a slidable device has generate a “lukewarm” response.
“The market for foldable phones overlaps with that for slidable phones.
It will be difficult for slidable phones to create its own market,” said Yi Choong-hoon, CEO and top analyst of Seoul-based display market tracker UBI Research at a conference.
“Samsung seems uninterested in slidable phones and will focus resources on foldable phones for some time.”
Unlike foldable display technologies that have been greatly improved, those for slidable displays have more limitations than appeals, according to Yi.
The colourless polyimide film should be used to protect the slidable display but the use can affect the surface quality.
Attendees heard that among the identified problems a digitizer pen a key feature for wider screen phones, cannot function on a slidable device.
“For consumers who are familiar with folding phones like a book, sliding the screen may feel more complicated,” Yi said.
“For the same reason, the slidable display is unlikely to be used for laptops. But for tablet PCs, the entry barrier seems lower than other devices.”
Regarding Chinese smartphone makers increasingly launching foldable phones, the analyst dismissed the possibility for them to catch up with the market leader Samsung.
“Samsung Display has secured an unrivaled competitiveness, especially on related patents and production know-how. It won’t be easy for Chinese rivals to compete head-on,” he said.
“Chinese smartphone makers may seek to launch slidable phones in an attempt to differentiate themselves from Samsung. But the market potential seems limited.”
