Top 5 Best-selling Foldable Smartphones in 2023

Dream - Foldable phones are considered positive in the smartphone industry this year.
According to DSCC (Display Supply Chain Consultants), foldable shipments increased by 42 percent (YoY) in the second quarter of 2023 and by 16 percent in the first quarter of 2023, reaching 2.2 million units.

South Korean technology giant, Samsung, emerged as the top foldable phone manufacturer during the second quarter of 2023, surpassing Huawei in market share by a narrow margin of 32 percent to 30 percent.

According to PhoneArena, Huawei actually had the top first and third foldable models based on shipments. Mate X3 was the most shipped phone from April to June, while the clamshell Pocket S ranked third.

Meanwhile, Samsung had the second and fourth most shipped foldable devices in Q2, namely Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4. Clamshell X Flip Vivo ranked fifth. Clamshell models led with 53 percent during Q2.

Samsung Display was the major foldable panel supplier during Q2 with a 63 percent share of all shipped foldable models, although it decreased from the company's previous share of 68 percent. This is the lowest market share for Samsung Display since the first quarter of 2021.

For the third quarter, DSCC predicts that foldable phone shipments will reach a new record high with 6.9 million units shipped worldwide.

This will be a 10 percent annual gain from Q3 2022 and a 200 percent increase from the second quarter. DSCC predicts that Samsung will dominate during Q3 with a large market share of 72 percent in the foldable device market, with no other brand approaching double-digit share.

During the third quarter of last year, when Samsung released the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4, Samsung dominated 86 percent of the global foldable smartphone market share.

Galaxy Z Flip 5 is expected to lead with a 45 percent market share of foldable devices during Q3, followed by Galaxy Z Fold 5 with an estimated 20 percent share. Huawei Mate X3, Honor Magic V2, and Motorola Razr 40 Ultra will complete the top five.

Clamshells are projected to have a 55 percent share during DSCC's Q3 forecast, and Samsung Display will recover to achieve the highest foldable panel market share, 78 percent, since Q4 2022.