After 8 years of sales, foldable screen mobile phones will finally exceed 100 million units. Organizations predict that the next 100 million units may only take 3 years.

Abstract:

On September 7, according to the latest global folding screen smartphone market forecast released by Counterpoint Research,

by the end of 2026, global cumulative shipments of folding screen mobile phones are expected to exceed 100 million units

. Since the launch of the first commercial product in 2019, the foldable screen mobile phone market has entered its eighth year of development.

Counterpoint predicts that as Apple enters the folding screen mobile phone market, and manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei continue to promote related products,

Global folding screen mobile phone shipments are expected to increase by 37% year-on-year in 2027, setting the highest growth rate since 2022

. According to its forecast, the folding screen mobile phone market is expected to achieve a cumulative shipment of 100 million units in the next three years.

However, from the perspective of the entire smartphone market, folding screens are still a niche category. Counterpoint data shows that

foldable screen phones currently account for only about 2% of the global smartphone market

, while its price is still about three times that of traditional candy bar smartphones, and large-scale popularization is still expected to take several years.

Apple’s entry may change the existing market structure. Counterpoint predicts that

Apple’s foldable screen iPhone shipments will reach up to 6 million units in 2026, corresponding to approximately 25% of the global foldable screen mobile phone market

. If it reaches this level, Apple will rank second in the world behind Samsung's 38% and surpass Huawei's 22%.

Counterpoint deputy director Liz Lee said that the initial production ramp-up of Apple's first foldable screen iPhone may be subject to supply constraints, so it set the upper limit of its 2026 shipment forecast at 6 million units.

Counterpoint predicts that the main constraints faced by Apple’s foldable screen mobile phone in the early stages of its launch may come from the supply side.

Sales and deliveries are not expected to reach full scale immediately following this week's product launch

, as production capacity gradually increases, the scope of supply may be expanded to different markets.

From 2027, Counterpoint predicts that Apple’s annual shipments of foldable screen mobile phones will more than double,

the market share is expected to further rise to 40%

. At the same time, products such as Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 and Huawei Pura X Max are also believed to continue to promote the development of the folding screen market.

In addition to Apple, Samsung and Huawei, other mobile phone manufacturers are also continuing to deploy folding screen products. Materials show that Xiaomi is about to release Mi 18 Fold, and Motorola, Honor, Google, vivo and OPPO are also developing new folding screen models, including large-size products.

Counterpoint believes that as more manufacturers enter and product forms continue to change, the future competition of foldable screen mobile phones will focus more on user experience and application scenarios. However, as it currently only accounts for about 2% of the smartphone market and the price is still significantly higher than that of candy bar phones, there is still a long way to go before foldable screens can truly become mass market products.