Samsung loses its spot as the world’s largest foldable phone manufacturer

Things are starting to shake up and get more exciting in the smartphone market, or at least in the foldable segment. Samsung seems to have found a worthy opponent to give it a run for its money. The tech behemoth has dominated foldable phone shipments since the launch of the original Galaxy Fold in September 2019, thanks to great features and durable designs that keep improving every year. However, the latest report claims a new name in the top spot of the world’s largest foldable phone manufacturer.

According to the latest information from Counterpoint, Samsung held a commanding 58 percent of the global foldable smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2023, with Huawei trailing at 14 percent. Other OEMs, including Honor and Motorola, shared the remaining 26 percent. However, the latest report paints a different picture, with Huawei now leading the market at 35 percent and Samsung slipping to second place with a 23 percent market share in Q1 2024. This significant shift underscores the intense competition in the foldable smartphone market.

Why did Samsung lose its crown?

There are many possible ways to explain this shift in the market, but the first and most important aspect comes from the integration of 5G technology in Huawei devices, giving the Chinese company a competitive edge in the Asian market. This move is thought to have helped the company achieve a 257 percent YoY growth this quarter, as its 5G models are responsible for 84 percent of its total foldable phone shipments.

Huawei’s Mate X5 is so popular that it’s been the company’s best-selling foldable phone for three consecutive quarters. Still, things can get better for the Chinese company, as it has also launched a new, more affordable foldable phone, the Pocket 2. This is the company’s first foldable device with a clamshell, which could help Huawei keep the top spot for a while longer — at least, until the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 launch in July.

Source: Counterpoint Research

The report also explains that Honor and Motorola have grown significantly in Chinese and overseas markets. Honor’s Magic V2 has helped the company grow from a 3 percent in Q1 2023 to a 12 percent market share in Q1 2024, giving it the third spot in this wild race. Not only that, but the Magic V2 also became the most-shipped foldable phone in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2024, which is quite a feat for this foldable device with a slim design.

Book-type foldable phones have also become more popular, accounting for 55 percent of the global shipments. This is great because clamshell-design foldable phones have been more popular since 2021.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Despite being fairly similar to its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is, no doubt, one of the very best foldables on the market.

Samsung easily dominated the foldable phone market for several years, mainly because there wasn’t any real competition from other big names in the industry. Finally, other brands began to catch up and offered interesting alternatives that dented Samsung’s control of the market. So now, we will have to wait and see if Samsung manages to get the top spot back with the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6, as these new devices will arrive with enhanced performance and other new goodies.