Why do they all want a folding phone?
One of the main obstacles to buying a foldable smartphone is its price. Indeed, top-of-the-range models are still very expensive and do not appeal to consumers who are above all looking to save money. According to GfK, 35% of French people surveyed said that price was the main criterion for selecting a new smartphone. When we see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and its price between 1799 € and 2159 €, we see that this range of devices is even more expensive than that of the Premium. Even people who are used to paying more than €900 for their new device are reluctant to buy a phone that costs more than double…
Difficult beginnings…
Another black spot for folding smartphones: their fragility. Users are indeed very reluctant to buy such a fragile and expensive device. We remember the bad publicity when the first Galaxy Z Fold was released with its transparent film integrated into the screen which was sometimes torn off by mistake or which peeled off prematurely.
Although this problem was quickly resolved, consumers no doubt still remember it. The hinge is also a source of concern. How do these devices age? Finally, folding smartphones still suffer from some display bugs related to applications that are not adapted to the dual screen system. It also deters potential consumers from purchasing this type of product.
More and more folding models
With all these barriers to purchase, it’s no wonder that folding smartphones have a hard time convincing consumers initially. Manufacturers had to work on several points to convince users to buy this type of product. Since its third version, the Z Fold has been waterproof and the One UI overlay is quite suitable for the dual-screen system. There is still the problem of price, but the more manufacturers there will be to offer this type of product, the lower the prices will be. There are more and more models in this range marginal, but growing : Oppo Find N, Vivo X Fold, Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold, Motorola Razr 5G, Microsoft Surface Duo 2, Huawei Mate Xs 2, etc.
Multiply tasks.
Without counting.With the new #GalaxyZFold4display multiple applications at the same time on the screen.#GalaxyUnpacked pic.twitter.com/6dJ4tLPZSO
— Samsung FR (@SamsungFR) August 10, 2022
A booming market!
Global sales of foldable smartphones quadrupled in 2021, to 10 million units. This segment could still grow by 73% in 2022, according to the research firm Counterpoint Research. Samsung suffered the plasters, but it is now reaping the fruits of its labor: the Korean firm remains clearly at the head of this sector with 87% of market share last year. Foldable devices at Samsung already account for 15% of all their sales. So there is a real market…
