Foldable phone shipments set to grow

“Although foldable phone shipments may grow 20-30% next year, they remain small in overall numbers, accounting for just over 2% of smartphone shipments priced at ₹30,000- plus in India,” a senior industry official said.

Market research firm Counterpoint, in its annual report, ‘Global Foldable Smartphone Market Forecast, Q3 2022’, said FY23 is likely to close with 52% annual growth at 22.7 million, globally. However, while shipments to India grew in line with the global pace of growth, foldable smartphones remain a very small part of overall shipments. Industry executives said around 400,000 foldable units were shipped to India in 2022.

According to Prachir Singh, senior research analyst, Counterpoint, the Indian premium smartphone market accounted for “10-11% of the overall market” as of the September quarter. Counterpoint’s quarterly data showed 45 million smartphones were shipped in India during the period. Singh said the market share of foldable phones is not likely to drastically change in 2023. “India’s average selling price for smartphones is still $245 (approx. ₹20,300), while foldable phones are priced at a lofty niche,” he said.

Foldable phones got a double-digit market share in the ultra-premium segment (above $1,000) globally, Tarun Pathak, director, global smartphone practice, Counterpoint, said. “We expect it to rise to above 20% in 2023,” he added.

Counterpoint’s report noted that while Samsung will continue to lead the foldable phones market next year, China-headquartered brands such as Honor, Motorola, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo are likely to contribute to increasing competition and falling prices through next year.

However, despite this growth in foldable smartphone shipments, the overall smartphone market has remained muted — and marked 2022 as a year of multiple sequential shipment declines.

The September quarter, typically seen as the strongest shipment quarter for smartphone vendors in India, witnessed a “first ever” annual shipment decline this year with an 11% decline. Industry experts noted issues such as higher-than-ever-before inventories of up to 10 weeks, coupled with falling customer demand amid inflationary concerns, were behind the decline of smartphone shipments in India.

Even amid this decline, the premium market saw a surge in shipments — driven by festive season deals in devices of brands such as Apple, Samsung and OnePlus. According to Counterpoint’s November 4 report on the September quarter, the premium segment reached its highest-ever market share in India with 12% — a quarter when Apple’s iPhone 13 became the most shipped smartphone in India