Foldable Smartphone Sales Decline For The First Time In Fourth Quarter Of 2022: Report
Bad news for foldable smartphones! A new report from DSCC (Display Supply Chain Consultants) shows a decline in sales during the fourth quarter of 2022. As to the report, foldable smartphone shipments fell by 48 per cent compared to the previous quarter and 26 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, with a total of 3.1 million units shipped from October to December 2022.
Although Q4 2022 saw a decline in shipments, the overall 2022 foldable phone shipments rose by an impressive 62 per cent, reaching 12.9 million units, the DSCC report said. Samsung, as always continued to dominate the foldable phone market in 2022, with an 83 per cent market share. This number is down when compared to Q3’s 86 per cent and Q4 2021’s 96 per cent, Aas per Sammobile.
The report also noted that Apple’s recently released iPhone 14 series overshadowed Samsung’s foldable phones in the fourth quarter of 2022. Huawei and Oppo followed Samsung in the global foldable phone market, while the Galaxy Z Flip was the top-selling foldable phone worldwide, with a 47% market share.
DSCC hinted at a continued soft trend in foldable shipments during the current quarter, with a 3 per cent decline in year-over-year deliveries of foldable handsets worldwide. However, this trend is expected to reverse in the second quarter of 2023, with the release of new foldable phones from Samsung and Vivo.
Additionally, Oppo and Vivo are set to launch clamshell models in more markets at more affordable prices later this year. The report anticipates total foldable shipments to surpass 17 million units worldwide in 2023.
Samsung Display remains the leading display supplier in the foldable phone market, responsible for 81 per cent of foldable displays used in the fourth quarter of 2022, followed by Chinese supplier BOE at 17 per cent. Despite this, DSCC predicts Samsung will maintain or grow its share of foldable display shipments in 2023, with a forecasted growth of over 20 million units in the upcoming year, the GizmoChina reported.
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