According to a market research firm, global foldable smartphone shipments declined by 1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024. It is being told that after six consecutive quarters of growth, the market has seen a decline for the first time. Samsung had the largest market share in the foldable smartphone market globally, followed by brands like Honor, Huawei, Motorola and Xiaomi. The latter recorded the highest shipment growth among foldable brands courtesy of its foldable smartphone launch outside China.
Global foldable smartphone shipment
according to a report By Counterpoint Research, global foldable smartphone shipments see decline for the first time in Q3 2024. The poor performance of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 is being considered as one of the possible reasons for this decline. Despite this, the South Korean technology group had a market share of 56 percent – shipping more devices by a huge margin than its rivals.
The data comes from Counterpoint Research’s Global Folding Smartphone Market Tracker.
Global foldable smartphone shipments in Q3 2024
Photo Credit: Counterpoint Research
However, by its own standards, Samsung’s unit shipments saw a 21 percent decline year-on-year. Its declining numbers in China due to the emergence of different brands and products has resulted in the company having only 8 percent market share in the country. It is also reported that it is facing tough competition from Motorola’s latest Razr series in North America, while Honor’s foldable smartphones are also giving it a tough competition in the Western European market.
Huawei was reported to be the second-largest player in the global foldable smartphone market with a 15 percent share, up 13 percent from the same period last year. Although it launched several experimental models like the Nova Flip and Mate XT Ultimate Design that saw low shipments, the company aims to boost growth with the launch of the Mate X6 this month.
Honor and Motorola took the third and fourth positions in the list with 10 percent and 7 percent market share, respectively. Counterpoint says both brands were among the fastest-growing brands in the third quarter of 2024 due to flagship smartphone launches in recent months. Xiaomi recorded the highest shipment growth of 185 percent among foldable brands. It also had 6 percent market share – its highest since entering the foldable smartphone market in the first quarter of 2021.
