Samsung was one of the first manufacturers to gain users’ trust in the durability of foldable phones. People have also liked the software customizations that Samsung offers with its foldable devices. This way, the company has established its dominance on the form factor in most of the markets. China was also a part of it. Foldable smartphone shipments are up 25% year-on-year, and Samsung is a key contributor to this growth.
However, the story of Samsung foldables isn’t the same in the Chinese market. A recent report from IDC shows that the Chinese OEMs are outperforming Samsung in market share and that the company is facing a noticeable dip in market share in the country regarding foldable phones.
Samsung’s foldable phones are seeing a dip in market share in China
Samsung’s foldable phones are now facing increasing competition and a sharp dip in market share in China. Smartphone manufacturers in the country like Huawei, Honor, Vivo, and more. The company is seeing a significant decline in the market share of its foldables in the country. However, it might not be entirely due to the other OEMs catching up.
According to the IDC report, Samsung’s foldable market share in China was only 5.9% in Q1 2024. For context, the South Korean giant had previously achieved a 30% market share in the country, the home country of most of the other foldable manufacturers.
However, the Chinese foldable market is changing rapidly and the company’s share was already at only 11% last year. At present, Samsung comes in fifth position regarding the market share for foldable phones in the country. This comes despite all the improvements that Samsung made in the hinge mechanism and overall appearance of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Huawei and Honor are leading the foldable market in China
Speaking of the Chinese foldable market, Huawei comes on top with a whopping 44% share. Honor, which was formerly a subsidiary of the same company, claims the second position with a market share of 26.7%. Surprisingly, vivo and Oppo come in the third and fourth positions with a market share of 12.6% and 9% respectively. While not being as flexible in the software side, the Chinese OEMs have managed to make the foldable phones look and feel more appealing with slick and lightweight design, premium materials, and reasonably good cameras.
Amidst all the US trade restrictions on various companies from the country, buyers are seemingly preferring Chinese brands over overseas ones. The trend of “patriotic consumption” in China is reportedly influencing people in the country to go for Chinese alternatives even if they do not provide the best possible user experience.