Samsung, which has been the world’s largest foldable smartphone brand for years, maintained its first place in the 3rd quarter of 2023. According to a new report from DSCC, the foldable smartphone market had an active quarter from July to September, thanks to the launch of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5. However, Samsung sales are predicted to decline in the fourth quarter after rivals launched new products.
- Best-selling smartphone models in the third quarter of 2023
Samsung had a market share of approximately 72 percent in the third quarter of this year, but it is estimated that this share will drop to 42 percent in the fourth quarter. The reason for this decline is the launch of newer and better-featured foldable phones from rival brands. Overall, 7 million foldable smartphones were sold in the third quarter of this year; This figure means an increase of 215 percent compared to the previous quarter and a 16 percent increase compared to the third quarter of last year. Huawei ranked second with 9 percent market share, while Honor ranked third with 8 percent market share.
Galaxy Z Flip 5 became the best-selling foldable smartphone in the 3rd quarter of 2023, achieving 45 percent market share. Galaxy Z Fold 5 had a 24 percent market share in the same quarter. Huawei Mate X3 and Honor Magic V2 were the third and fourth best-selling smartphones with 6 percent market share each.
In all of 2023, total sales of foldable smartphones are expected to reach 15.8 million units, an increase of 23 percent compared to last year. Huawei and Honor are expected to reach 21 percent and 19 percent market share, respectively, in the last quarter of this year. While the market share of Galaxy Z Flip 5 is expected to decrease to 22 percent, the market share of Huawei Mate X5 is expected to reach 15 percent. Additionally, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is likely to rank fifth on the list of best-selling phones this year.
Samsung Display produces foldable OLED panels for many foldable phones and has had a strong position in this field in the past years. However, its market share is now decreasing as Chinese OLED panel manufacturers increase their market share. Foldable OLED panels from Chinese companies such as BOE and CSOT now offer advanced features such as LTPO, POL-LESS and UTG that were previously only available in Samsung Display’s OLED panels.
As a matter of fact, in the fourth quarter of this year, Samsung Display’s foldable OLED market share is expected to drop from 75 percent to only 35 percent. This means a big loss for Samsung Display, which is considered the leader in the mobile OLED segment. Samsung needs to either reduce its prices or introduce new innovations to attract more customers and sales.
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