In a possible seismic shift in the foldable smartphone market, industry titans Oppo and Vivo are rumored to be considering a withdrawal from this niche market. According to reports, both Chinese tech giants are considering an exit plan as their market shares dwindle, allowing Samsung and Huawei to dominate the area. Check out the details.
Oppo and Vivo’s Foldable Phones Reportedly Exiting China
The Korea Economic Daily has reported that Oppo and Vivo have decided to exit the foldable industry. If these allegations are true, it would be the end of Oppo’s popular Find N and Find N Flip foldables, as well as Vivo’s X Fold and X Flip series.
Several things are reportedly influencing this prospective exit. Market data shows both Oppo and Vivo’s foldable market share has decreased, implying that the segment may not be producing the expected returns. Furthermore, the impending introduction of Huawei’s reported 10-inch tri-fold smartphone could pose a substantial challenge to their competitiveness in the sector.
Huawei’s recent return to the Chinese market complicates the unfolding story. The Chinese giant scored a 36.2% YoY gain in smartphone shipments as its market share in China rose to 13.9%. It managed to successfully launch the Mate 60 series, which has the Kirin 9000s 5G CPU on a 7nm node despite US sanctions on Huawei and SMIC. This revival, combined with the predicted tri-fold debut, presents Huawei as a dangerous competitor, potentially hurting Oppo and Vivo strongholds in the Chinese market, the largest in the world.
According to the source, Samsung, the current market leader in foldable technology, has already completed the development of rollable display technology and may be working on its tri-fold smartphone. With both Korean and Chinese tech behemoths fighting for supremacy in the foldable arena, the future of this unique smartphone category looks increasingly promising.
Overall, while the statements in the Korea Economic Daily report are unsubstantiated, they raise significant questions about the future of foldables. Should Oppo and Vivo abandon the foldable market, will Samsung and Huawei be able to assert their supremacy relatively unchallenged? Can Huawei’s rumored tri-fold phone change the global smartphone landscape? And how will Samsung’s rollable technology fit into this evolving story?
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