Do note that this goes for all foldable smartphones, both clamshell ones, and the ones that unfold into tablets. As long as they have a foldable display, and are smartphones at the same time, they’re included in the report.
Foldable smartphone shipments increased by 264%, as 7.1 million units got shipped out in 2021
Smartphone OEMs across the globe shipped out 7.1 million foldable smartphones last year. IDC expects those numbers to grow quite a bit in the coming years. The company expects 27.6 million foldable smartphones to ship out in 2025.
In order for that to happen, we’d have to see a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 69.9-percent from 2020 to 2025. Canalys actually shared a similar report recently, though its numbers are a bit different. Canalys expects 30 million foldable smartphones to be shipped out by 2024. So, Canalys believes that foldable devices will be even more popular than IDC thinks. We’ll see which company was more accurate in a couple of years. Now, foldable smartphone shipments grew quite a bit in 2021, but they’re only a speck of sand in a desert in comparison to smartphones overall. Out of all smartphone shipments across the globe, foldable smartphones accounted for only 0.5-percent.
Things will change quite a bit by 2025
In 2025, IDC expects that foldable smartphone shipments will account for 1.8-percent of overall smartphone shipments. That is still not a huge portion, but still, it’s a considerable improvement. Foldable smartphones are becoming more and more popular, that is obvious. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 handsets have been quite popular since they launched last year. The OPPO Find N turned out to be a great offering, while HONOR recently announced its first foldable phone, the Magic V. Many more foldable smartphones are coming this year, as Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, and some other companies are planning to release them.
