Consumer Interest Drops Due to High Prices
Manufacturers Planning Foldable Phones Also Halt Plans
'80% Market Share' Samsung and Huawei Expected to Gain Influence
Chinese manufacturers targeting the mid-to-low price mobile phone market are reportedly scaling back production of foldable phone products. This is analyzed to be due to the high price, which results in low interest from the target demand group, as well as the cost burden manufacturers must bear for after-sales service (AS) due to frequent malfunctions. The market dominance of Samsung Electronics and Huawei, which hold the first and second positions in foldable phone market share, is expected to strengthen further.
Huawei's twice-folding foldable phone 'Mate XT'. The photo is unrelated to the content / Photo by Huawei website capture
On the 15th, overseas IT media GizmoChina and others cited a report from Chinese media NetEase.com, stating that an anonymous major mobile phone brand is discontinuing its foldable phone product line and internally re-planning product positioning. They also reported that plans for new product launches next year have been halted.
The reason Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are scaling back foldable phone production is that the high price results in low demand. Recently, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition (SE), released as a thinner version of the Galaxy Z Fold6, is priced at 2,789,600 KRW, and the Chinese version foldable phone, Shenqitianxia W25, is also in the 3 million KRW range. Huawei's world-first twice-folding foldable phone costs about 3.87 million KRW.
Additionally, foldable phones experience issues during the folding and unfolding process. This leads to high repair costs. A common problem is the appearance of black lines on the hinge (the folding part of the phone). As a result, manufacturers are focusing on developing and strengthening hinge technology.
Because of this, Chinese manufacturers targeting low-cost products in low-income countries such as Africa seem to be withdrawing from supplying foldable phone products. PhoneArena reported that Chinese smartphone manufacturers Infinix, Itel, and Tecno have halted plans to produce foldable phones. The media stated, "The report claims that Oppo and Vivo, which are familiar to Western consumers, have also stopped working on foldable phones," adding, "Huawei may be the only Chinese mobile phone manufacturer able to sell foldable phones at a profit."
GizmoChina also reported that Oppo's latest foldable phone, the 'Find N5,' appears to have had its release delayed by one year, and it is uncertain whether the product will be released next year as originally expected.
As the number of Chinese manufacturers entering the foldable phone market decreases, the market shares of Samsung Electronics and Huawei, which hold the first and second positions, are expected to expand further. The report cited by the media analyzed, "Huawei and Samsung Electronics are among the few mobile phone manufacturers able to make profits from foldable phone products," adding, "Other brands are still in the experimental stage."
According to global market research firm TrendForce, as of June this year, Samsung held a 50.4% share of the foldable phone market, ranking first, while Huawei held 30.8%, ranking second. Motorola accounted for 6.2%, and Honor, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo each held market shares in the 2-3% range.
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