China's Huawei is shaking Samsung Electronics' dominance in the foldable phone market. Although Huawei is a latecomer, it is surpassing Samsung Electronics in terms of technology, gaining recognition as a new power in the foldable phone market.
According to market research firm IDC on the 20th, Huawei recorded a global market share of 23.1% in foldable phones last year, ranking second. The gap in market share with first-place Samsung Electronics (32.9%) has narrowed to 9.8 percentage points (P). Considering that in 2021, Samsung Electronics had 83% and Huawei had 9%, the gap in market share has closed significantly in three years.
Huawei's market share is overwhelming in China, which consumes about half of the world's foldable phones. According to IDC China, Huawei's market share in China last year was 48.6%, securing first place. Honor (20.6%), Vivo (11.1%), Xiaomi (7.4%), and Oppo (5.3%) followed. In contrast, Samsung recorded less than 1%. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Samsung's share of the Chinese market for foldable phones was 11%.
The rise of Huawei in the foldable phone market is attributed to its technology, according to the IT industry. Huawei released the world's first triple foldable phone, the 'Mate XT', in September last year. The thickness of the unfolded screen is 3.6 mm, about 36% thinner than Samsung's foldable phone, the 'Galaxy Z Fold 6' (5.6 mm). In terms of specifications, it features 16 gigabytes (GB) of RAM and 1 terabyte (TB) of memory storage, outperforming Samsung's highest-spec foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 (12GB RAM + 1TB).
An IT industry insider noted, "The thickness of the unfolded screen of Vivo's foldable phone 'X Fold 3', released last year, is 4.65 mm, 17% thinner compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6," adding, "Not only Huawei but also Chinese manufacturers like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi are rapidly increasing their market share globally by offering foldable phones with similar performance to Samsung at lower prices."
Due to the pursuit of Chinese companies, Samsung is in a situation where it must find solutions to narrow the technology gap. There is growing interest in whether Samsung Electronics will reveal a triple foldable phone at the unveiling event of the new 'Galaxy Z 7' series in July. Gachon University Chair Professor Kim Yong-seok stated, "We need to reduce the thickness of the circuitry and optimize the placement of components. In particular, heat dissipation technology is crucial, and I expect that Samsung Electronics will be able to respond adequately," adding, "I believe that developing a triple foldable phone is possible even now."
There are also analyses suggesting that to compete with the value-for-money foldable phones from China, Samsung must lower prices by reducing component specifications. Roh Tae-Moon, acting head of the DX division at Samsung Electronics, noted at a press conference in July 2023 regarding preparations for a budget foldable phone, "We are collaborating with supply chain partners to secure cost competitiveness in components. It's a challenging task, but we are investing a significant amount of resources in this area."