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In Q4 2023, global shipments of foldable screen mobile phones increased by 42%,

In the fourth quarter of 2023, major smartphone manufacturers experienced a significant year-on-year increase in shipments of foldable screen phones.

The latest data from the research institution TechInsights shows that the global market size for foldable screen phones grew by 42% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023. However, due to geopolitical tensions, economic turbulence, and Samsung's weakness, there was a significant decline in the main markets of North America and Western Europe. The Asia-Pacific region was the leader in the growth of foldable phone shipments for the quarter, with Samsung, Huawei, and Honor ranking in the top three.

In terms of market ranking, the top nine foldable screen manufacturers for the quarter were: Samsung, Huawei, Honor, Motorola, vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, OnePlus, and Google.

Samsung remains the leader in the foldable screen field, but it was surpassed by Huawei and Honor in the horizontal foldable phone sector, with its market share dropping to about 20%. However, thanks to its vertical small foldable models, Samsung still maintains the top position in the foldable screen market share. The institution stated that the Asia-Pacific region is the only area where horizontal foldable phones (book-style) dominate, with a share close to 75%. In other regional markets, the proportion of horizontal foldable models is less than 50%.

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In the vertical small foldable phone segment, Samsung's global market share exceeds 50%, followed by Motorola, with other manufacturers holding relatively smaller shares.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, major smartphone manufacturers saw a significant year-on-year increase in foldable screen phone shipments, with Honor experiencing a massive 914% increase, Motorola a substantial 898% increase, vivo growing by 235%, OPPO by 198%, Xiaomi by 115%, and Huawei by 35%. Samsung's previous leading position was challenged, with a year-on-year decline in shipments of 32%.Research institution DSCC's recent report indicates that in the fourth quarter of 2023, global shipments of foldable phone panels reached 4.2 million units, marking a 33% year-over-year increase and setting a new record for the highest volume in the same period ever.

When it comes to brand specifics, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Z Flip5 did not meet sales expectations, but they still led the global market in the fourth quarter of 2023. Both Huawei and Honor saw an increase in their market share.

In terms of models, a total of 23 foldable phone models were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2023. Among the top 10 best-selling foldable phones worldwide, Samsung accounted for 4 models, Honor and OPPO each had 2 models, and Huawei and Xiaomi had one model each.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5 remains the best-selling model, followed by the Huawei Mate X5, Honor Magic Vs2, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, and OPPO Find N3 Flip.

Looking ahead to 2024, Samsung continues to be the industry leader in foldable phones, but its advantage is no longer as pronounced. Due to a gap in Samsung's product cycle, Huawei is expected to surpass Samsung in the first or second quarter of 2024 with its Mate X5 and Pocket2 foldable phones, marking the first time Samsung has been overtaken in the foldable phone market.

DSCC data shows that Huawei purchased more screen panels from BOE Technology Group in the fourth quarter of 2023, thus BOE's foldable panel procurement volume for that quarter has already exceeded that of Samsung Display (SDC).

With Huawei's strong performance, the foldable phone market is expected to grow by 105% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2024. However, DSCC predicts that Samsung will regain its leadership position in the second half of 2024 and will lead Huawei by a significant margin for the full year of 2024.DSCC forecasts that in the first quarter of 2024, there will be shipments of 25 different foldable models, and for the entire year of 2024, there will be shipments of 27 different foldable models.

DSCC estimates that Huawei and Honor will have a higher market share in 2024, while OPPO and vivo will see a decline in market share due to shelving their inner and outer folding screen projects.

DSCC anticipates that Huawei will launch at least two new inner and outer folding phones in 2024, and Honor, Motorola, Samsung, and other companies will also update their inner and outer folding phones. Overall, it is expected that the share of inner and outer folding phones in the foldable phone market will increase in 2024.

Looking back at the history of mobile phone development, the straight-bar smartphone replaced traditional feature phones with its innovative product experience and became the mainstream product form. However, after years of iteration and development, the hardware configuration and functional experience of straight-bar smartphones have hit a development bottleneck, leading to a decrease in users' motivation to upgrade and an extension of the replacement cycle. The size development of straight-bar smartphones is constrained by users' portability needs and cannot truly meet users' demand for large screens; while foldable form factor phones, while ensuring portability, to a greater extent, meet users' demand for large screens, making foldable screens a new opportunity for the development of the smartphone industry.

As for whether foldable screen phones will become mainstream in 2024, there may still be some challenges to overcome. First, technical issues such as crease problems and screen durability still need to be resolved. Second, the relatively high price of foldable screen phones may still present a certain purchase barrier for ordinary consumers. In addition, market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, with major brands striving to innovate in order to win more consumer favor.

Therefore, although foldable screen phones may capture a larger market share in 2024, to become mainstream, more efforts are needed in terms of technological innovation, cost reduction, and user experience enhancement. At the same time, consumer acceptance and market feedback are also key factors in determining whether they can become mainstream.

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