Book-style foldables are taking over, with Samsung fighting for second place

A new forecast shows that the foldable market is poised to continue growing, with book-style foldables taking over the popularity of clamshell devices – but Samsung is no longer the king, instead fighting for second place. Omdia reports that the global foldable smartphone market is set to grow by “more than 20% annually through 2028,” totalling around 36 million units by then. In the first half of 2026 alone, shipments reached 5.1 million units. That was down over 20% year-over-year, in part because flip phone (clamshell) foldable shipments are down 47% year-over-year. Book-style devices are taking over. In the first half of the year, 69% of foldable shipments were book-style devices, and the report brings out that wide devices like Samsung’s hit Galaxy Z Fold 8 are set to build future growth. Yet, Samsung is not the leader in this space anymore. Instead, it’s Huawei with the top spot. The Chinese manufacturer currently accounts for 57% of global foldable shipments, while Samsung made up just 18%. That’s when zoomed in to look at just the first half of 2026, though, so it’s not accounting for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 launch. Still, it’s a staggering difference given that Samsung founded the category, and that Huawei is largely limited to sales in China alone. Honor, Oppo, Vivo, and other assorted brands make up the rest of the foldable market globally, in that order. The report closes out on the reminder that, while becoming ever-more popular, foldables are expected to remain a very small part of the market, accounting for “less than 3% of total global smartphone shipments” at around 45 million by the year 2030. More on Foldables: Pixel 11 Pro Fold is stuck as the fourth-best foldable, and that’s a good thing for you [Gallery] Samsung says Galaxy Z Fold 8’s new shape exists because ‘one size does not fit all’ Review: The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra ticks every box, but it’s the boring option now Follow Ben: Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.