Apple’s display partner and rival, Samsung expects the foldable market to grow by 80% per year by 2025. And the South Korean manufacturer predicts that Apple would join the foldable devices space in 2024 with the launch of foldable iPad and MacBook, not iPhone.
Touting the foldable design of its Galaxy Z series, Samsung took a dig at Apple for re-using the same design and lack of innovation in its latest iPhone 14 series even before it was unveiled. The South Korean manufacturer is currently running a social media campaign encouraging consumers to “join the flip side” and not buy the new iPhone 14.
Samsung claims the popularity of its foldable smartphone will force Apple to enter the space
According to The Elec, in a recent meeting with the suppliers, Samsung told the suppliers that the foldable smartphone market would have a CAGR of 80% up to 2025 and the Cupertino tech giant would also enter the foldable space in 2024 with the launch of foldable tablet and notebook, not a smartphone.
To emphasize the lucrative market of foldable smartphones, the South Korean manufacturer told the suppliers that South Korean youth were switching from iPhones to Samsung’s foldable phones at a very fast rate and 90% of switchers are expected to choose a foldable smartphone as the next device as well.
Samsung also shared that in the South Korean market, iPhone users in their 20s and 30s were changing their devices to Samsung’s foldable phones at a rate three to four times higher than before.
Samsung believes customers are showing high satisfaction and the sector is expected to grow exponentially.
However, sources report that foldable smartphones only account for 1% of the total smartphone market. Although Samsung expressed confidence in the foldable sector’s growth, the company also highlighted issues with foldable smartphones.
Some of these challenges include: making the phones weigh less and thinner, and more durable, reducing the crease on the screen, having a designated slot for the S Pen, and improving the camera.
Samsung also asked that the vibration motor vibrate more and the development of new materials that can reduce the weight of foldable phones.
For a long time, it was rumored that Apple was developing a foldable iPhone but a recent report by analyst firm CCS Insight said that Apple would first launch a foldable iPad in 2024 and not a foldable iPhone which corroborates Samsung’s claim.
Previously, tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that the Cupertino tech company was “actively” testing a 9-inch foldable iPhone with an OLED display to be launched before 2025.
Although it can not be said with certainty which foldable device would Apple launch first, the company is testing new color “electronic paper display” technology for future foldable devices.
