SHENZHEN - The foldable smartphone market is set for a big boost amid reports that Apple is preparing a clamshell-style model, while Huawei Technologies may soon launch a tri-folding handset.
Apple's top-down folding iPhone could come as early as 2026, according to a report by The Information on Wednesday. The tech giant in the United States has reached out to Asian suppliers in recent months to make components for its first foldable handset, according to the report, citing anonymous sources.
This would mark Apple's entry into the foldable handset segment, a fast-growing category in an otherwise flat smartphone market. The global market has become crowded with foldables from the likes of Samsung Electronics, Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei.
US-sanctioned Huawei is reportedly on track to launch another foldable handset with the introduction of the world's first smartphone that folds into three sections, with two hinges, according to a report on Saturday by Chinese state-backed media outlet Securities Daily.
The prototype is ready and mass production is scheduled to start in the third or fourth quarter this year, according to the report, citing anonymous sources who work in the supply chain. Huawei is also working to incorporate the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into the phone.
Apple and Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Senior Huawei executive Richard Yu Chengdong said in a live-streamed interview last week that the company has been working on "the next generation of foldable phones" for the past five years.
The Shenzhen-based telecoms equipment maker filed a patent for a dual-hinge foldable device in 2022, according to records from the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
In the first quarter, Huawei beat Samsung to become the world's bestselling foldable smartphone brand with a 35 per cent market share, as the South Korean brand's share fell to 23 per cent, according to data from Counterpoint Research. However, Huawei has largely been limited to selling its devices in China, as restrictions on accessing US technology such as Google services limited the appeal of its products overseas.
A foldable smartphone. (Photo: South China Morning Post)
Huawei is likely to continue to prioritise foldable smartphones because of the higher price they command, even as the company faces challenges in securing supplies of its self-designed 5G system-on-a-chip, according to Counterpoint.
Foldable smartphones are becoming increasingly popular in China, with shipments more than doubling to 7.01 million in 2023 from 3.2 million in 2022, according to a report published by IDC in February.
However, the Chinese foldable smartphone market has been heating up, as major players are forming partnerships and launching new products to grab a greater share of the high-end segment while competing with Apple's iPhone.
Beijing-based Xiaomi - the world's third-largest smartphone vendor in the June quarter, according to IDC - unveiled the Mix Flip, its first-ever clamshell-type model, and the Mix Fold 4, a book-style foldable, last Friday.
Samsung, which unveiled its new Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 models in Paris earlier this month, will add new AI-driven avatar and voice-assistant functions to those handsets using ByteDance's large language model Duobao, the two companies announced last Wednesday.
A woman looks at a new iPhone 15 Pro and a Huawei Mate 60 Pro as Apple's new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China, at an Apple store in Shanghai, China, on Sept 22, 2023. (Photo: Reuters)
