What happened to the folding phone boom?

Although Alejandro's case is isolated, the commitment of technology brands has changed in recent months and has shifted towards having a better bet on cameras and the use of tools such as Artificial Intelligence.

“Users want to have AI in their hands because they are beginning to see several of the tool's applications in other launches, however the premium market is complex and you must opt ​​for different design options, colors and technologies,” said José Cardoso, vice president from Motorola Latin America.

In numbers, foldables are still in fashion. According to the report Counterpoint Research Folding Tracker and Folding Insightthe global foldable smartphone market increased by 64% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, based on sales volume, to reach 2.5 million units.

This is quite significant because the foldable market rose amid a 14.2% year-on-year drop in the global smartphone market during the same period. Its main markets are China, North America and Western Europe, as they showed strong growth in the first quarter of 2023.

“In China, new foldable products like Oppo N2 and N2 Flip had big launches. These big launch events constantly spark market interest. “Consequently, Chinese consumers have become more familiar with foldable products compared to other regions,” Woojin Son, an analyst at Counterpoint, noted in this same report.

Among the brands that grew the most between 2022 and 2023 are Samsung, which went from having 6% of the market to 26%, however, the numbers for the first quarter of 2024 are not yet available.

Regarding why users are looking more for cameras or AI integration in their phones, beyond folding them, Cardoso himself points out that it is an issue of productivity and reviewing the cost-benefit of each new product.

In the case of Alejandro Mata, his search to sell the folding phone did not even exist, because when trying to repair the screen he realized that it was better for him to be part of the exchange program and renew his equipment for one similar to the one he had before the folding phone .

During this first quarter of the year, bets have been placed on more powerful camera smartphones such as the Honor Magic 6 Pro, the Galaxy S24 Ultra and even the Xiaomi Series 14, all of these with a focus on the usefulness of their cameras.