The foldable phone market is entering a competitive phase, with incumbent market leader Samsung Electronics' position being seriously challenged. Compared to its peak in 2020, Samsung has already seen its market share in foldable phones cut in half due to the likes of Motorola and Huawei.
Citing market research institute Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), Korea's ChosunBiz pointed out that in the first quarter of 2023, Samsung's global foldable phone market share was around 45%. While still number one on the market, compared to the near 90% in 2020, it represented a drop of almost 50%. Chinese brands and their large domestic demand market are eating into Samsung's market share. Oppo is currently number two in the world with a 21% market share, with Huawei closely behind at 15%.
Samsung's market share drop in the foldable phone market is somewhat predictable, as Samsung has struggled mightily in China, world's largest market, for many years. In 2021, Samsung established the China Business Innovation Team to cultivate the local market. However, according to data from the IDC (International Data Corporation), in 1Q23, Samsung (18.4%) is still only third in the Chinese foldable phone market, behind Oppo (35%) and Huawei (24.9%).
Among Chinese brands, Huawei has been making quite a bit of progress. Chinese media ifeng Tech pointed out that Huawei has been an outlier in an overall struggling smartphone market. In the first half of 2023, Huawei saw a 41% growth compared to 2022. Its market share also grew to 9.2%. Part of this growth was fueled by the strong performance of Huawei's Mate X3 foldable phone, which the company has recently upgraded its shipment goal from 1.47 million units to 3 million units.
Besides Chinese brands, Motorola is also accelerating its venture into the foldable phone market, further intensifying the competition for Samsung. In 2021, Motorola fought its way to being the third-largest brand in the US smartphone market, utilizing a strategy that mainly focused on mid-to-low-tier phones. After securing the mid- to low-end market, Motorola is likely to move toward the high-end market.
In fact, Motorola launched a foldable model back in 2019. The product's third generation was launched in 2022, a sign that the company is gradually increasing its product maturity. In June 2023, Motorola launched its latest foldable models, the Razr 40 Ultra and Razr 40, and aimed to challenge Samsung's Galaxy Z series in South Korea. In addition, Motorola officially stated on June 5 that the Razr 40 Ultra has sold over 10,000 units in China.
In response to Motorola's moves, Samsung has moved the announcement for its new foldable phone models, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, from mid-August to the last week of July. It's expected that Samsung will expand the marketing promotions for foldable phones in the second half of 2023 to maintain its top spot in the market.
