It’s rumored that Oppo and vivo are leaving the foldable phone market, giving Samsung and Huawei the opportunity to dominate. The speculation arises from a report by the Korea Economic Daily, suggesting that Huawei is planning to introduce a 10-inch tri-fold smartphone to compete with Apple in China. This move could potentially shift the global smartphone market, where Apple and Samsung currently hold about 20% of the worldwide market share each.

Huawei has been making waves in China with its recent release of the Mate 60 flagship series, powered by its own 7nm Kirin 9000s 5G application processor (AP). Despite U.S. sanctions preventing access to advanced chip-making equipment, Huawei saw a 36.2% year-over-year gain in smartphone shipments during the last quarter of 2023. In just two weeks into 2024, Huawei surpassed Apple to become the leading phone manufacturer in China.

Meanwhile, Oppo released its third-generation Find N3 and the clamshell Find N3 Flip last October, while vivo launched its second-generation vivo X Fold 2 and X Flip foldables. New foldable phones are expected from vivo in April. Huawei’s most recent foldable release is the Mate X5, a book-style foldable with a 7.85-inch internal display that hit the market last September.

The potential exit of Oppo and vivo from the foldable phone market could have significant implications for Chinese manufacturers’ presence in this niche category.

Stay tuned for more updates on this evolving story!