New folding phones jockey for a share of the smartphone market

Flip phones are back.

Several tech giants — including Samsung and Chinese company Otto — revealed folding devices at this week’s Mobile World Congress. Unlike the flip phones that dominated the market 20 years ago, the new generation boasts big smartphone screens that fold in half.

“There are all shapes, all sizes, lots of experimentation, and that’s an exciting time,” CCS Insight Chief Analyst Ben Wood told CNBC.

Samsung showcased their Galaxy Z range at MWC — the Z Fold 4 is expected to drop in mid to late 2022. 

Companies typically show off their newest smartphone designs at Mobile World, which opened Monday in Barcelona.

Apple has stood conspicuously on the sidelines as flip phones return to prominence. The company released the iPhone 13 in September 2021, but Mr. Wood suggests that they have had “flexible display technology in their labs for more than a decade.”

He added that Apple would likely wait until the market develops further. 

Anshel Sag, the principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, thinks the company is holding off a launch until the cost of technologies lowers. 

“I think we’re probably still a year or two away from that point right now, even though we’re seeing Samsung and others solving many of the pain points that used to exist,” Mr. Sag told CNBC.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reportedly teased the device in a note to investors in May 2021.

“Based on our latest industry survey, we forecast that Apple will likely launch a foldable iPhone with an 8-inch QHD+ flexible OLED display in 2023, with SDC as the exclusive display supplier and Samsung Foundry as the exclusive DDI foundry provider,” Mr. Kuo said. 

Samsung and Apple continue to lead the way in global smartphone sales. The companies had a combined market share of 42.4% in Quarter 4 2021. Apple had nearly 85 million shipments in that span, while Samsung lagged with just under 70 million. 

Xiaomi finished a distant third with 45 million shipments.