According to a new report from market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research, Apple’s launch of a foldable iPhone may be delayed until 2025, when this smartphone market will see explosive growth, with annual sales expected to reach 100 million units.
Foldable phones can provide a larger display area in a smaller form factor, and while Samsung is currently the leader in this field, Apple has been taking a wait-and-see attitude, not rushing to launch its own foldable phone, but waiting for the technology to mature and market demand to stabilize. Apple has used similar strategies in the past, such as in the field of smartwatches and tablet computers, are in other manufacturers first before launching their own improved version of the product, and subsequently achieved great success.
Back in 2021, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple could launch its first foldable iPhone in 2023, but that would also depend on Apple’s ability to solve its technical challenges by then. Display analyst Ross Young also backed up that idea, saying that 2025 was a more likely date. For now, it looks like we’ll see a foldable iPhone sooner rather than later, although it could be very expensive. It’s widely believed that Apple will launch a foldable iPad first, possibly next year.
Counterpoint Research also sees 2025 as the year Apple will launch a foldable iPhone, and has produced a market forecast based on that prediction, showing that Apple will help ship 100 million foldable smartphones by 2027. (The color distinction is less obvious in the chart, but Apple is the larger darker gray area starting in 2025.)
Counterpoint says that on top of that projection, foldable phones will account for 21% of the high-end smartphone market (phones priced over $600) in 2025 and 39% by 2027. This means that the foldable phone market will reach $10 billion within two years of Apple’s entry into the market. The agency predicts that Samsung will remain the biggest player, probably because it has a number of foldable phone products, while Apple will also grow its market share rapidly.
