In theory, the story should not have turned out this way. Huawei, hampered by US sanctions, is unlikely to survive, let alone thrive. Huawei is making a mockery of the sanctions imposed by the US and is currently the most dominant player in the foldable device market, according to data compiled by TechInsights.
Huawei grew 229 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, overtaking Samsung as the market leader in the foldable device category. The Chinese giant is making a comeback after falling from second place to barely any significance due to the US ban.
The fact that Asia-Pacific was the biggest growth driver for the foldable device market in the second quarter of 2024 likely benefited the company.
Foldable landscape format in Q2 2024 | Image credit – TechInsight
Samsung fell to second place with a mediocre growth rate of just 5 percent, well below the overall market growth rate of 85 percent. The South Korean giant continued to perform well in North America, one of the most lucrative smartphone markets.
Third-quarter numbers aren't expected to be any better, as demand for the company's foldable devices appears to be waning. Figures recently shared by an insider show that not many people have been buying the company's latest bendy handsets, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6.
After an early start and five years of dominance, Samsung is struggling to keep up with the competition. If growth continues to accelerate, the company could be overtaken by Transsion Holdings and Honor, which are fourth and seventh on the list respectively, but are growing even faster.
Transsion stood out with an impressive growth rate of 3150 percent. Honor's growth stats were the second most impressive at 423 percent.
Back to the leaderboard: Vivo was the third largest player in the second quarter of 2024, but lost a little market share despite growth of 83 percent.
Foldable books continue to have a stranglehold on consumers, with Huawei dominating the category. Samsung managed to score a small victory in the form of the most folding phones shipped.