Foldable smartphones aren’t in vogue, and more pain awaits phone makers

Global foldable smartphone shipments barely registered growth through 2024, closing the year with a tepid 2.9% annual growth. Though research firm Counterpoint does not give exact shipment figures, International Data Corporation (IDC) pegs this number at around 25 million units, while TrendForce suggests 17.7 million foldable phones were shipped worldwide in a period of twelve months. There is no easy way to say this — these are disappointing numbers, for two reasons.

But there may be a silver lining. “At the moment, this doesn’t look like a market that is plateauing – it looks like a market that is about to transform. And that requires a lot of planning, hence the slight pullback this year,” notes Calvin Lee, Research Director at Counterpoint Research. Despite excitement and conversations around them, foldable phones barely figure, among 1.23 billion smartphone shipments in the same period, according to Counterpoint’s own numbers. Secondly, almost all Android phone makers have at least one foldable phone in their respective product portfolios, but that really hasn’t translated into sales. Counterpoint data estimates that the four quarters making up 2025 will bring more pain for foldable phone sales, forecasting single-digit negative numbers.

The key to the foldable phone space finding a spark would perhaps be Apple introducing a foldable form factor — though they haven’t detailed any plans as yet, expectations are there may be a foldable iPhone at some point in 2026. This is something Counterpoint’s Senior Analyst Jene Park, alludes to.

“I don’t see many positives this year and we are actually expecting negative growth for the segment, which will be a first. But it is definitely not a sign of the market peaking; rather it is a sign of regrouping before 2026, which is expected to be exciting and rejuvenating for the segment with the entry of Apple and a slew of clamshells,” says Park.

A primary reason for this may be cost, often driven by currency variations — Samsung’s dual approach lists the Galaxy Z Fold6 ( ₹1,64,999 onwards) and the Galaxy Z Flip6 ( ₹1,21,999 onwards), while the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold (around ₹1,62,999), both charging top money for the foldable phone experience. The Vivo X Fold3 Pro priced around ₹1,59,999 is in the same ballpark, while the OnePlus Open (around ₹1,39,999 onwards) may attract buyers searching for better value. Perhaps OnePlus had a point, when they didn’t release an updated foldable, following this 2023 launch.

The present generation of Android foldables aren’t lacking on performance, and in most cases, build with flagship specs. Samsung continues to use specially customised Qualcomm Snapdragon chips on its foldable, to drive the Galaxy AI suite’s usability. The Vivo X Fold 3 Pro, when it was launched a year ago, arrived with the then latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip.

Amplified by the pricing aspect, is a lack of clarity on longevity of foldable screens. There have been instances of screens getting damaged or developing cracks, even without rough usage or physical impact. Repairs, if not covered under warranty, tend to be costly. It may take time for robustness to become an overarching fixture for these phones.

Additionally, the app driven experience for foldable phones still doesn’t add much in terms of new functionality, and often feel akin to stretched versions of the same app as used on other phones. There have been attempts to change that, with OnePlus’ Canvas and Samsung’s DeX mode, but they are still limited in terms of overall scope.

In the Pixel 9 Pro Fold review, for instance, we had noted this — “There are advantages that stem from stock Android, yet at the same time, there is a definite argument Google could have done more to extend multi-tasking capabilities (so far, only two apps, side by side)—how more than one app can use the screen space. Our perspective comes from the flexible OnePlus’ Open Canvas and quite how neatly Samsung’s One UI manages more than two apps.” Software, and robust hardware may have to keep pace with flagship specs, if foldables are to truly succeed.