Abstract:
The latest report released by market research organization TrendForce shows that Apple’s first foldable screen mobile phone iPhone Duo has shown strong demand after its launch and is expected to occupy 29.8% of the global foldable screen smartphone market in 2027, becoming one of the most influential new players in this field.
TrendForce previously predicted that iPhone Duo shipments will reach about 5 million units by the end of 2026, corresponding to 24.8% of the global folding screen market share. At the same time, the entire folding screen mobile phone market is expected to grow by only 0.5% in 2026, and the shipments of folding screen products from some Android manufacturers may even experience a year-on-year decline of more than 20%.
However, as Apple officially enters the folding screen track, the situation is expected to change significantly. TrendForce predicts that global foldable screen smartphone shipments will reach 23.5 million units in 2027, a year-on-year increase of 16.3%. Apple’s entry is believed to inject new vitality into the already slowing market and drive more consumers to pay attention to foldable screen devices.
The report believes that Apple’s greatest competitive advantage comes from its deep integration capabilities of chips, operating systems and developer ecosystem. As application adaptation continues to improve and hardware reliability continues to improve, iPhone Duo is expected to further unleash the actual value of the foldable screen form, pushing the focus of industry competition from pure appearance innovation to productivity, multi-tasking capabilities and software experience optimization.
According to TrendForce’s forecast, Samsung will still maintain its No. 1 position in the global folding screen market by 2027, but its share will drop from 35.1% in 2026 to 31.9%. Apple will follow closely with a market share of 29.8%, quickly jumping to second place in the industry. Huawei is expected to rank third, with its market share falling from 24.8% to 21.3%.
Analysts pointed out that the significance of Apple's entry into the folding screen market is not only the change in market share, but also the possibility of driving a change in the technological direction of the entire industry. With the addition of the Apple ecosystem, the future development focus of folding screen devices may gradually shift from hardware competition to software ecosystem, multi-window collaboration and artificial intelligence application experience.
At the same time, the market popularity of iPhone Duo after its launch has further strengthened the outside world's optimism about its prospects. Apple has publicly stated before that the market demand for this product is "exceptionally strong" and within a short period of time after pre-sales started, delivery dates in many places were quickly postponed. The tight supply also reflects consumers' greater-than-expected interest in Apple's first foldable screen product.
If TrendForce’s prediction is ultimately verified, then Apple is expected to gain close to 30% of the global market share within two years with its first folding screen phone alone, and will have a profound impact on the folding screen industry that has long been dominated by Samsung, Huawei and other manufacturers. In the next few years, the foldable screen mobile phone market may usher in a new round of competition and growth cycle.
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