The foldable phone market is getting some diversity, finally, after Samsung has held a near-monopoly in the market for a few years. More and more brands are now making them and it is important to keep up-to-date with the latest foldable phones in the market.
While there is now greater diversity in the market since the first one arrived in 2019, so far, all foldable phones released have fallen in two broad categories – the bigger tablet-style or book-style folds (after the Galaxy Z Fold style), and the compact flip form factor (after the Galaxy Z Flip style). It is safe to say that Samsung Mobile has defined the field for everyone else.
Let’s start with a look at all the tech companies making foldable phones in 2023.
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Who is making foldable phones in 2023?
At the top of the list is Samsung, the big daddy of the foldable market. Samsung foldable phones are available globally, and if you are here in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, Samsung is a strong player in those markets and you shouldn’t have any trouble getting your hands on a Samsung Galaxy Fold or Flip.
Samsung’s latest are the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4. The Fold5 and Flip5 are being expected later in the year.
Motorola is another phone brand that has been a pioneer in the foldable phone space. The company is known for the Motorola Razr lineup built in the compact, flip-style form factor. The latest Motorola foldable is the Razr 2022.
Huawei has had foldable phones in the markets they have a presence in. That excludes the United States, as there is a ban on Huawei products here. Huawei Pocket S (flip) and Huawei Mate Xs 2 (fold) were both released in 2022.
Xiaomi is one of the pioneers of foldable phone and has a couple in the market already. Its latest foldable is the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2.
Vivo has been making foldable phones for a few years now and have some in the market already. Its latest foldable is the Vivo X Fold+.
In 2022, OPPO released the Find N2 Flip in China and the brand has now made it available internationally. OPPO hardly sells any phones in the US, but UK and European residents will be able to get their hands on one easily.
TECNO, a phone maker that has a strong presence in Asia and Africa, has announced its first foldable device at MWC 2023 – the Phantom V Fold. It has the tablet-style form factor.
OnePlus, which has a small presence in the US, has affirmed that it will release its first foldable this year. It is likely that it will be a rebadged OPPO Find N2 Flip, though.
It is not certain that stragglers like Apple, Google, and Nokia will get a foldable device in the market this year. If you want one from them, you will have to wait and keep your fingers crossed.
For now, the foldable market is massively dominated by Samsung. In 2022, the company shipped 11 million out of the 14 million foldable devices shipped that year. That is a whopping 78% of the market.
The biggest brands in foldable phones
If you are wondering how the different brand stand in the foldables market, here is a breakdown.
- Samsung – shipped 11 million units in 2022
- Huawei – shipped 2 million units in 2022
- OPPO – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Vivo – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Xiaomi – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Honor – shipped under 1 million units in 2022
- Motorola – shipped 40,000 units in 2022
It is expected that over 30 million foldable phones will be sold in 2023. Finally, foldable devices are going mainstream and it promises to be an exciting year.
The Latest Foldable Phones in 2023
OPPO announced two foldable devices in December 2023 – the Find N2 Flip and the Find N2, but availability was restricted to China. On the 15th of February 2023, at a London event, the company released the Find N2 Flip for the global market, making it the first foldable phone of 2023 for many people.
Unfortunately, there has been no word of a global availability for the bigger foldable, OPPO Find N2. It looks like that model may never make it to North America and Europe.
Of course, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 have already been released globally and are available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and countries in the European Union.
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Way back from the days of EPOC, Symbian, Palm, PocketPC/Windows Mobile, BlackBerry/BB10, webOS, Windows Phone, Firefox, Ubuntu Touch, to Android, iOS, and KaiOS operating systems, founder of MobilityArena, Mister Mobility, has owned a few hundred smartphones and tablets, and counting.