• Foldables continue to be the fastest growing smartphone product category this year. We expect their shipments to grow 73% YoY in 2022 to 16 million units.
• Samsung continues to lead the category it created with the first Galaxy Fold device.
• Samsung’s share of the foldable market was 62% in the first half of this year.
• We expect this to jump to 80% in the second half with its new Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4 product launches.

Seoul, San Jose, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Buenos Aires – August 10, 2022

The global foldable smartphone market will grow 73% this year from 9 million units last year to 16 million units, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest Foldable Smartphone Forecast. The strong growth defies current economic headwinds as the premium market shows resilience and steady demand. Counterpoint forecasts strong growth through next year too, with foldables expected to grow to 26 million units in 2023.

Global Foldable Smartphone Shipments (m units)

Source:  Counterpoint Research Foldable Smartphone Forecast, August 2022

During H1 2022, Samsung enjoyed dominant market share of foldables, accounting for 62% of the market according to Counterpoint’s Foldable Smartphone Tracker, June 2022; Huawei and OPPO came in a distant second and third.

Global Foldable Smartphone Market Share, H1 2022 (sell-through, unit-based)

Source:  Counterpoint Research Foldable Smartphone Tracker, June 2022.

Commenting on Samsung’s performance, Senior Analyst Jene Park said, “Samsung has led the market since the beginning, and we think its dominance will continue for some time. Huawei, OPPO, Xiaomi and vivo are all introducing new foldables but they are mostly limited to the Chinese market. Motorola may be the only contender in markets like the USA for now.”

“We expect the new Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4 combo to continue Samsung’s momentum in the space and sell close to 9m units this year, helping the company’s H2 2022 foldables share to jump to 80%.”

On the significance of the foldables segment across the broader market, Park added, “Foldables not only bring fresh design to smartphones – traditionally ruled by bar-type form factors – but also more screen real estate. This is growing in importance with smartphone use cases expanding, especially across media, entertainment and work.”

Framing the growth in foldables, we see the premium market showing strong growth despite macro headwinds, with ultra-premium leading the segment.   

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Jene Park  

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