Huawei took the top spot as the foldable smartphone brand in the first quarter of 2024. This is the first time the company has won the best title in this category after battling a longstanding US ban. Such information has emerged from a report by a well-known market research firm.
Huawei has overtaken Samsung as the world's leading foldable smartphone brand in the first quarter of 2024. Despite facing US sanctions for the past few years, this is the first time a Chinese tech company has taken the top spot in this growing category. Let's find out the reasons behind Huawei becoming the best foldable smartphone brand.
Huawei is the best foldable smartphone brand of the first quarter of 2024
According to market research firm Counterpoint, Huawei's foldable smartphone shipments rose 267% year-on-year in the first three months of this year. On the other hand, Samsung's performance in the last quarter was completely opposite. The South Korean company's market share was 58% in the first quarter of 2023, falling to just 23% in 2024. While total global foldable smartphone shipments grew by 49%
A key reason for Huawei's success in the foldable phone market is its focus on 5G models. Last quarter, 84% of Huawei's foldable phone shipments were 5G-enabled, compared to none in the same quarter last year. Counterpoint reported that the company's popular foldable models are the Huawei Mate X5 (booklet-type) and the Huawei Pocket 2 (clamshell-type). Most of Huawei's cells come from China, although its foldables are also available in regions such as the Middle East.
On the other hand, Samsung has been slow to innovate its foldable lineup, which may be one of the reasons for its declining market share. Again, Motorola has performed exceptionally well in this segment. Its sales increased by more than 1473% in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of last year, making it the fourth largest foldable brand with an 11% market share. According to the research firm, the Motorola Razr 40 (aka Razr 2023) has become the top model in North America.
Again, Honor managed to grab a little over 12% market share, placing it in third place. The brand's Honor Magic V2 was the best-selling folding phone in Western Europe in the first quarter of this year. It accounted for 55% of global shipments of “book-type” foldables in the past three months, surpassing clamshell-type foldables for the first time since 2021. Samsung is currently gearing up for the launch of its next generation Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Samsung Galaxy Flip 6 phones. With these, it remains to be seen whether the South Korean company can regain its lost position in the foldable market.
