Folding mobile phones: the great technological failure of 2025?

The folding device sector is experiencing one of its best moments, but the trend could change in the coming years. A study by Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) has shown that foldable phones have started to generate losses in the third quarter of 2024 for the first time in history.

The annual figures are generally positive with an increase in folding sales of 5% compared to 2023. The market could change in 2025 with a 4% decrease in sales if experts’ forecasts are met.

Next year would be the first to present a drop in sales since the first folding devices were launched on the market in 2019. The sale of these mobile phones has reached a maximum growth of 40% between 2019 and 2023.

Manufacturers will stop designing foldable devices

The drop in sales in the coming years will not only be related to supposed lower market demand. The most important manufacturers are increasingly less interested in continuing to invest in this technology.

Some brands with economical models such as Infinix, Itel and Tecno have announced that they are withdrawing from this market. Rumors that others like Oppo will stop investing in folding phones continue to grow.

Samsung and Huawei lead the world market, although the report points out that models like the foldable Galaxy Z Flip 6 will have a drop in sales of 10% compared to the figures for the Galaxy Z Flip 5 from last year.

Samsung has cut back on shipments of panels for folding screens: last year it received 52% of global production and now it stands at 40%, the lowest figure since 2021. The South Korean manufacturer prepares the launch of its next foldable in 2025 and could once again exceed 50%although it would still be below the data for 2022 and 2023.

Huawei is also reducing the purchase of foldable panels. The brand controlled 30% of market sales in the second quarter, although they fell to 20% in the third quarter. The report points out that would be one of the few manufacturers to grow this year thanks to the three-fold Mate: Its sales grow from 18% in 2023 to 33% in 2024.

Brands that bet on this technology will have to face a new challenge. Foldables have managed to convince buyers in Europe and South Korea with relatively high demand, but they are not successful in the United States and China.

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Tags: studies, Samsung, folding screen, Huawei