Foldable Smartphone Market Expected to Reach $174 Billion by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Foldable Smartphone Market," The foldable smartphone market was valued at $17.6 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $174 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 26% from 2022 to 2031.

Foldable smartphones are featured on flexible screen technology that can be twisted and folded like paper. In addition, a flexible screen is an emerging technology and it is expected to modernize semiconductors and electronics shortly. This is due to the high demand for foldable screens from smartphone manufacturers and rapid innovations in OLED and AMOLED technologies. These are the various foldable screens developed by companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG, Visinox, and Huawei with different specifications on pixel density, thickness, and material used.

Furthermore, an increase in demand for advanced consumer electronics and a growing number of internet users is boosting the growth of the foldable smartphone market. In addition, the rising demand for Phablet positively impacts the growth of the foldable smartphone market. However, the high cost of advanced technology and manufacturing complexity of foldable displays is hampering the foldable smartphone industry growth. On the contrary, expanding the product portfolio of smartphone vendors is expected to offer remunerative opportunities for expansion during the foldable smartphone market forecast.

Depending on sales channel, the online segment holds the largest foldable smartphone market share, owing to it save time as compared to offline. However, the online segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, owing to it has the ability to search extensively, compare widely amongst multiple brands.

Region-wise, the foldable smartphone market size was dominated by North America in 2021, and is expected to retain its position during the forecast period, owing to technological advancements and the emergence of new business models. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period, owing to the presence of leading players such as Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, and Xiaomi.

Foldable smartphone market has witnessed stable growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as manufacturing processes are provisionally closed across several countries to contain the virus. There is also a shortage of mobile chipsets in the market due to distractions in manufacturing. In addition, several manufacturing companies such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, and LG Display have suspended their manufacturing operations in China, India, South Korea, and European countries. As China is a hub for electronics equipment’s and companies inclines to manufacture their products in China, the market due to COVID-19 has drastically dropped. For instance, in May 2020, OPPO Company closed down its processes in Noida, India. Additionally, demand for foldable smartphone devices has decreased due to lockdowns imposed in several countries.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

• By display panel type, the flip segment accounted for the largest deception technology market share in 2021.
• Region wise, North America generated highest revenue in 2021.
• Depending on sales channel, the online segment generated the highest revenue in 2021.

The key players profiled in the foldable smartphone market analysis are ASUSTeK Computer Inc, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd, LG Electronics, Microsoft Corporation, Motorola Mobility LLC, Samsung, TCL Technology, Vivo Mobile Pvt Ltd, Xiaomi Corporation, and ZTE Corporation. These players have adopted various strategies to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the foldable smartphone industry.