Chinese Brands Lead the YoY Shipment Growth of Foldable Smartphones in Q2 2023

According to the latest EDT research report released by TechInsights, global shipments of foldable smartphones increased by 24% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023. The Asia Pacific region accounts for nearly two-thirds of global shipments of foldable smartphones.

In the second quarter, Samsung remained the leader in the global foldable screen smartphone market, but due to intensified competition, its shipment volume decreased by 37% year-on-year. Huawei, Vivo, OPPO, Lenovo Motorola, Honor, Xiaomi, and Google were among the top 8.

Among them, Chinese brands lead the YoY shipment growth of foldable smartphones. Lenovo Motorola performed exceptionally well in Q2 with its latest Razr 40 series phones, with shipments increasing by 2135% year-on-year. Vivo (300%), OPPO (153%), and Huawei (103%) have all achieved three-digit year-on-year growth rates in the shipment volume of foldable smartphones.

Commenting on the foldable smartphone market outlook for 2023, a senior analyst from Counterpoint said, “We believe that, in 2023, there will be 1) intensifying competition among OEMs in the global foldable market due to more aggressive target market expansion; 2) intensifying price competition; and 3) increasing sales volume of clamshell-type foldable smartphones through various product launches. “

Addressing the big question around Apple’s entry into the foldable market, he said, “Apple is still absent from our short-term forecasts. However, since overall consumer response to foldable phones is improving and Apple will be possibly releasing non-phone foldable products soon, the brand’s participation in the foldable smartphone market is likely to occur after 2025.”