Global shipments for foldable smartphones to grow 300% by 2026
The foldable smartphone niche continues to see widespread acceptance amongst smartphone users, as the shipment is expected to hit 41.5 million units by the year 2026, a 300% increase from the currently predicted 13.5 million in 2022.
In a forecast by International Data Corporation (IDC), foldable smartphone shipments (including flip and fold form factors) are predicted to reach 13.5 million total units by the end of 2022, a 66.6% growth compared to the 8.1 million units in 2021, and an even bigger volume of 41.5 million units is predicted to ship by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38.7% from 2022 to 2026.
*data from IDC (International Data Corporation)
*shipment in Millions
*all figures are forecast projections.
*data is subject to change
Although the growth of foldable phones adoption in the smartphone market is predicted, they are expected to remain a niche and premium flagship device and are only expected to capture less than 3% of global volume by the end of the forecast period.
Foldable smartphones are becoming more widespread and staking a more significant claim in the overall smartphone market, since they first came on the market in 2018, when users were hesitant to adopt the "gimmicky" feature due to the structural compromises and not-so-assuring durability, improvements in their designs and build quality has since bolstered smartphone consumers' confidence in the category.
