Huawei grew 229 percent year-over-year in the second quarter of 2024 to overtake Samsung as the market leader in the foldable category. The Chinese giant has been staging a comeback after the US ban sent it spiralling down from number two to barely relevant.
It probably worked in the company’s favor that Asia Pacific was the biggest driver of growth for the foldable market in Q2 2024.
Foldable landscape in Q2 2024 | Image Credit – TechInsight
Samsung fell to the second spot, with a mediocre growth rate of just 5 percent, well below the wider market’s growth rate of 85 percent. The South Korean giant continued to have a solid footing in North America, one of the most lucrative smartphone markets.
Q3 numbers are unlikely to be any better, as demand for the company’s foldable devices appears to be weaning. Figures shared by an insider recently show that not many people bought the company’s latest bendable handset, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6.
After an early start and five years of dominance, Samsung is having a hard time keeping up with rivals and at this rate, it may be surpassed by Transsion Holdings and Honor, which are fourth and seventh on the list, respectively, but are growing at a faster clip.
Transsion stood out with an impressive growth rate of 3150 percent. Honor’s growth stats were the second most impressive at 423 percent.
Back to the leaderboard, Vivo was the third largest player in Q2 2024 but despite an 83 percent growth, it lost a tiny bit of market share.
Book-style foldables continue to have a chokehold on customers, with Huawei dominating the category. Samsung claimed a small win in the form of most flip phones shipped.