The popularity of foldable smartphones was revealed after the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 as foldable shipments grew 309% per annum (YoY) to 20 million units in 2021. About 90% of them were shipped in the second half of the year.
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It is not startling that these two most popular foldable smartphones will be available in 2021. Samsung has shipped 4.6 million copies of the Galaxy Flip 3, which is more than half (52 percent) of the total market. This is more than all the foldable devices together. Galaxy Z Fold 3 sent 2.5 million copies.
Oppo and Xiaomi also entered the foldable market in 2021. Earlier, they launched Find N in December for a positive customer response. Many people like its design compared to Samsung’s Z-fold series. Xiaomi’s Mi Mix fold also goes in the Z fold series of the Korean brand, but it did not do much in the market.
Meanwhile, Huawei launched the foldable phone P50 Pocket last year. But despite all the new entrants, Samsung could still sell more 2020 models than ever before. It shows just how strong Korean brands are in the foldable market. Omdia estimates its market share to be 88%.
A report by Omdia, international foldable smartphone shipments are expected to increase 55% by 2022 to 14 million units. The market will grow steadily over the next five years. By 2026, shipments could reach 61 million units. This corresponds to about 3.6% of the total smartphone market.
