The latest report from DSCC (Display Supply Chain Consultants) brings some bad news for foldable smartphones.
According to the report, the foldable smartphone market fell for the first time on an annual basis in the 4th quarter of 2022. In terms of numbers, foldable smartphone shipments fell 48% in Q4 of 2022 compared to Q3 of 2022 and 26% compared to Q4 of 2021.
Reportedly, 3.1 million foldable smartphones were distributed from the beginning of October 2022 to the end of December 2022. Although shipments decreased in the fourth quarter of 2022, the total number of shipments in 2022 increased by 62% to 12.9 million units. Samsung maintained its leadership in the foldable smartphone market with a market share of 83%. However, this rate is lower compared to 86% in the third quarter of 2021 and 96% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The sharp decline in foldable phone shipment volume of 50% in Q4 2022 after the launch of Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 in Q3 2022 could be blamed on Samsung’s quarter-to-quarter market share decline. In addition, it is estimated that the Apple iPhone 14 series attracted attention, causing Samsung’s foldable phones to be partially forgotten, causing a decrease in market share for the South Korean giant.
Galaxy Z Flip 4 became the best-selling foldable smartphone in the fourth quarter of 2022, reaching a 47% share of the global smartphone market. In the same quarter of last year, the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was located in this location. It can be deduced from this trend that people prefer the clamshell design more or they prefer not to spend more than $1,000 on a foldable phone. Huawei took the second place after Samsung, followed by OPPO. This trend is expected to continue into the current quarter, resulting in a 3% year-on-year decline in worldwide mobile phone sales.
Samsung was the largest supplier of foldable displays, with 81% of foldable displays used in Q4 2022. This rate fell from 91% in the third quarter of 2022. The share of Chinese supplier BOE increased from 4% in the 3rd quarter of 2022 to 17% in the 4th quarter of 2022.
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