Foldables have made a mark, but Apple is still far ahead.
Every single smartphone used to be a “premium” model, which meant that its price was on the extreme edge of what customers were willing to pay. Currently, there are devices available at a wide range of price points; nonetheless, Apple continues to dominate the high-end market. According to a new survey published by Counterpoint Research, several other device manufacturers have begun to challenge Apple’s market share, and foldable phones are mostly responsible for this trend.
It was determined by Counterpoint that Apple had a 75% share of the premium phone market in 2022. According to this definition, premium phones are defined as smartphones that cost more than $600. Regarding Apple, this encompasses all of the company’s products with the exception of the iPhone SE. During the year 2023, according to Counterpoint, Apple’s share in the premium market decreased somewhat, reaching 71%.
In the year 2023, Samsung, Huawei, and Xiaomi all had modest growth. In China, Huawei’s Mate 60 and Mate X3 foldable devices were successful, while Samsung’s S23 and Z Fold 5 were a comparable one-two punch. Both of these devices were produced by Samsung. As everything was going on, Xiaomi debuted the Mix Fold 3, which received favorable reviews.
Due to the fact that the majority of foldables are extremely pricey, it is still uncommon to come across foldables in the wild. Priced at a staggering $1,800, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the most popular smartphone on the market. However, according to Counterpoint, there are certain customers who are opting for foldables rather than purchasing a costly iPhone. These customers might have otherwise purchased an iPhone. In spite of the fact that foldables only account for one to two percent of phone sales worldwide, this was sufficient to decrease Apple’s market share by a few points.
This occurs at a time when the total market for smartphones is not growing at a quick rate; the days of rapid expansion from one year to the next have passed now that almost everyone has a smartphone, and people are retaining their phones for longer periods of time. When individuals do upgrade, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) revel in the opportunity to offer more expensive phones, which come with significantly higher earnings. It is estimated by Counterpoint that premium phones accounted for sixty percent of total revenues in 2023, despite the fact that they only accounted for twenty-five percent of all sales worldwide.
The first foldable phone was unveiled by Samsung five years ago, and since then, the company has made significant advancements in the hardware. However, Apple is never the first company to enter the room. Despite the fact that the first iPhone was an indisputable step forward for smartphones, it was built on the legacy of platforms such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Symbian. Purchasing a foldable device at the moment is equivalent to purchasing an Android phone; nevertheless, Apple will not remain in the background forever. In the end, it is going to introduce a foldable device and claim that it has resolved all of the issues that were associated with the form factor. It is possible that this tendency might be reversed in the blink of an eye.