The big tech companies are introducing foldable mobile phone displays as a new innovation. Where it still hooks next to the high price, read here.
In the market for foldable smartphones, the big manufacturers are taking up the fight. The South Korean industry leader Samsung already presented a hybrid device made of tablet and smartphone last week, while Chinese competitor Huawei moved to the ” Mobile World Congress ” in Barcelona on Sunday evening. The second Chinese giant Xiaomi and the South Korean company LG are already working on devices with foldable screens.
From the folding phones, the manufacturers hope for an increase in smartphone sales. The sales figures had fallen in 2018 worldwide by 4.1 percent to 1.4 billion. This is mainly due to the fact that only a few devices with new functions were introduced. Smartphone owners therefore use their old devices much longer today.
Prices in the four-digit range are not the only minus
Samsung is therefore promoting its Galaxy Fold as a “unique luxury device”. This is also reflected in the price: At the start of sales on April 26, it should cost from $ 1,980 (in Germany almost 2,000 euros). The new Huawei device Mate X is even more expensive with almost 2,300 euros. “I think we’re in the Foldable Device Stone Age,” says Ben Wood, analyst at market research firm CCS Insight. According to his forecasts, the folding phone will remain a niche product for another three years, until 2022, because of the price.
Even the consultants of “Strategy Analytics” estimate that only 1.2 million folding cell phones will be sold worldwide this year. In 2023, this number should increase to 64.9 million – which would be only 3.5 percent of the expected worldwide smartphone sales.
In addition to the price, the folding cell phones reveal even more problems. These include the display, which is read badly in the sunshine, as well as the bulky design. In addition, one wonders how well apps can be optimized, so they work even when folded screen.
Some experts also doubt how resistant the devices are. Although both Samsung and Huawei state that their devices can be folded over 100,000 times without breaking. Nevertheless, the mechanics of the folding display remains a potential weakness according to analysts.