IDC reveals promising mode for foldable phones
The latest report from the market research company (IDC) expected that shipments of foldable phones worldwide would reach 21.4 million units in 2023.
The company said in its report that this represents an increase of more than 50 percent from the 14.2 million units shipped during 2022.
(IDC) also expects shipments of foldable phones to reach 48.1 million units in 2027, at a compound annual growth rate of 27.6 percent from 2022 to 2027.
(IDC) believes that foldable phones remain the only positive talking point in the smartphone market, which declined by more than 11 percent in 2022. It said that the recent success of this category of phones and the expected growth highlights the healthy demand for this growing form factor.
Despite the slight decrease in average selling prices, foldable smartphones remain in the high-priced category across all regional markets. Average selling prices are expected to decline by 6.8 percent in 2023.
(IDC) said that it has seen significant improvements in durability and construction, in addition to improving the overall user experience with developments in software and hardware from all vendors of these phones.
More models from new and existing vendors are expected to bring further improvements to this category to help drive continued adoption.
“The foldable phone market ended at a slightly higher rate than previously expected, as consumers started adopting the new form factor,” said Anthony Scarcella, director of research at IDC Mobile Phones.
He added: “A 10 percent decrease in average selling prices helped the market grow by 75.5 percent in 2022, as foldable devices became affordable in many markets. With new vendors and models joining the race this year, we expect the foldable phone market to be one bright spot in 2023 with a growth of 50.5 percent, while the total smartphone market shrinks by 1.1 percent.
