Foldable Smartphone Shipments to Increase by 39% by 2026, But Will That Be Enough?

Samsung has been trying to rock the boat by launching a new kind of phone that is actually a bit of a throwback to the era of phones that preceded the smartphone revolution. This is the foldable phone which is quite similar to old school flip phones save for the fact that both halves of the phone comprise the screen with all things having been considered and taken into account.

A lot of major OEMs are placing bets on foldable smartphones because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up shaking up the industry and bringing a new form factor to the table. In spite of the fact that this is the case, foldable smartphone shipments have been on the lower side, with just 13.5 million global shipments predicted for 2022.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that IDC’s projections for the next four years look a fair bit rosier than might have been the case otherwise. It is expected that foldable smartphones will see a whopping 38.4% increase in global shipments by 2026, and that will bring the total number of smartphones in this category that are being sold to around 41.5 million.

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That would definitely give a number of brands hope, since the current figures seem to indicate that no one is really all that interested in buying smartphones that can be folded up. The convenience of a form factor that is so portable is hard to dispute, and many consumers are eager to find an alternative to the standard slate format.

Samsung might be the leader in this brand new category of smartphones, but they are not the only ones in the game. Oppo and Xiaomi have also been offering their own models, and it will be interesting to see which one comes out on top. Major smartphone brands are competing for the Chinese market, and Chinese companies have the advantage of already having an established presence in that region which can give them a leg up.

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