Since launching the Galaxy Fold in 2019 and the Galaxy Z Flip in 2020, Samsung has dominated the global folding phone market. However, this unique position has been shaken for the first time.

According to a report by Counterpoint Research, Huawei surpassed Samsung to become the leading folding phone manufacturer in the first quarter of 2024. In particular, this Chinese brand accounts for 35% of the global market share, while Samsung only reached 23%. This figure is in stark contrast to a year ago when HUAWEI held only 14% of the market share compared to Samsung's 58%.

HUAWEI's strong transition to 5G technology in folding phones is said to be the key factor in helping the company rise to the top. A year ago, Huawei's foldable phone portfolio was limited to LTE devices, but by the first quarter of 2024, the proportion of 5G-enabled foldable phones had reached 84% of total shipments.

Launched last September, HUAWEI Mate X5 - its first 5G folding phone - has continuously been on the list of best-selling products in China for three consecutive quarters, and HUAWEI Pocket 2 also recorded sales impressive numbers in the first quarter. Since the trade embargo was imposed in 2019, HUAWEI has focused on exploiting the domestic market, thus China contributes largely to its folding phone sales. Despite difficulties in ensuring the supply of self-developed 5G chips, the company is still determined to prioritize the development of folding phones, where the company inherently has an advantage in price.

HONOR and Motorola also achieved significant growth over the past year, especially in overseas markets. These two brands occupy the third and fourth positions in the global market, respectively. In particular, HONOR's sales outside China grew dramatically by 12,500% over the same period last year, mainly thanks to the ultra-thin folding phone model HONOR Magic V2, the best-selling product in Western Europe in the last quarter.

Another notable point is that for the first time since 2021, "book"-style folding phones have dominated with 55% of total global shipments. However, Counterpoint Research's report also predicts that HONOR and Xiaomi's Flip phones, along with Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 6, launching later this year could help clamshell-style folding phones regain their popularity. leading position.