The global foldable smartphone shipments will grow from under 1 million units in 2019 to 100 million by 2025, latest research from Strategy Analytics showed.
Samsung, Huawei and others will lead the way. High pricing, low display-yields and questionable durability are holding back the foldables market today, but those problems will be solved in the long-term, the report said.
"Foldables will be the fastest-growing segment of the premium smartphone market for the next decade," Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics said.
Foldables pack a big screen into a small design. Consumers can surf rich content, like video, on a large display, and then fold the device away neatly into a pocket or bag, said Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics.
Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, "Samsung was the world’s number one foldable smartphone vendor in 2019, followed by Huawei in second place."
Samsung is top in Western regions, like the US, while Huawei is focusing on its home market of China. Rival brands, such as Motorola and TCL, will deliver their own new models in 2020 and look to grab a slice of the foldables pie.
By 2025, every major player should have a foldables portfolio, including Apple, Hyers said.
"For now, the foldables industry has several hurdles to overcome, including very high pricing, low yields of bendable displays, and questionable durability about whether the hinges or screens will last for more than a few months," said Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics.
However, the technical problems for foldables are not unsolvable, and we expect the issues to be addressed in the coming years, Ukonaho added.
