China's Foldable Phone Market Q3 2024: Huawei Leads, Growth Slows, Penetration Remains Low

China's Foldable Phone Market Q3 2024: Huawei Leads, Growth Slows, Penetration Remains LowChina's foldable phone market experienced a slowdown in growth during the third quarter of 2024, yet still registered year-on-year growth. According to the latest data from market research firm IDC, 2

China's Foldable Phone Market Q3 2024: Huawei Leads, Growth Slows, Penetration Remains Low

China's foldable phone market experienced a slowdown in growth during the third quarter of 2024, yet still registered year-on-year growth. According to the latest data from market research firm IDC, 2.23 million foldable phones shipped in China during this quarter. However, compared to the previous eight quarters, the growth rate has significantly decelerated, prompting industry reflection on the future trajectory of the market.

Huawei, leveraging its strong brand influence and innovative technologies, maintained its leading position in the Chinese foldable phone market. With a market share of 41.0% in Q3 2024, Huawei secured a commanding lead. This success is closely linked to its newly launched tri-fold phone, the Mate X3 Ultimate, priced from 19,999. Boasting the world's largest 10.2-inch unfolded screen, the Mate X3 Ultimate garnered over 6.4 million pre-orders on Huawei's website before its release and sold out instantly upon launch, demonstrating strong market demand and consumer recognition of Huawei's innovative technology. The Mate X3 Ultimate's success signifies Huawei's successful foray into a new foldable phone segment.

Following Huawei is Honor, holding a 21.9% market share in second place. Honor ranks among the top three in both horizontal and vertical folding phone segments, showcasing its comprehensive competitiveness. Honor's continuous investment and product iteration in the foldable phone sector have solidified its position as a significant competitor after Huawei.

Xiaomi, propelled by the success of its new foldable phone, the Mix Flip, re-entered the top three for the first time since Q2 2021. This demonstrates the effectiveness of Xiaomi's strategic layout in the foldable phone market, laying a foundation for further development in this area.

Samsung, with the launch of its new generation of foldable phones, saw its market share rise to 7.7%, securing the fourth position. While its market share lags behind the top three, Samsung's technological and brand advantages as a globally renowned electronics manufacturer remain significant. Future product innovation and market promotion could further elevate Samsung's market share.

Vivo, despite having only one foldable phone line (the XFold3 series), maintained its fifth position and ranked third in the horizontal folding market. This highlights Vivo's refined operations and precise targeting of its customer base.

Despite continuous growth in the Chinese foldable phone market, IDC data reveals that since their launch in 2019, foldable phones have achieved a market penetration rate of only 3.2% (first three quarters of 2024). This indicates significant room for growth but also highlights limiting factors.

IDC attributes the low market penetration largely to the limited use cases for foldable phones. Currently, their applications primarily revolve around entertainment and media consumption, with fewer use cases in productivity and office applications, restricting user base expansion. Price and user experience also significantly influence consumer purchasing decisions. The generally high price point of foldable phones, offering no absolute advantage over straight phones, deters many consumers. Durability and ease of use also require further improvement from manufacturers.

In summary, Q3 2024 witnessed Huawei leading the Chinese foldable phone market, with other manufacturers closely pursuing, but with a slowing growth rate. While overall market growth persists, low market penetration reveals significant challenges. Future growth hinges on manufacturers improving user experience, expanding application scenarios, and lowering prices to unlock the foldable phone market's true potential. The maturity of foldable phone technology and increased market acceptance still require time, and competition among manufacturers will intensify. Only continuous innovation, offering more competitive products and services, will enable manufacturers to stand out in the future market competition. Balancing innovation and cost, and providing a more satisfying user experience, will be crucial for manufacturers going forward. Addressing these challenges is key to unlocking explosive growth in the foldable phone market.