Apple remains the only major manufacturer without a foldable smartphone
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After Google introduced the Pixel Fold, Apple was the only smartphone maker in the world not to have a foldable model in its portfolio. The company turned out to be aloof from a trend that promises multibillion-dollar revenues in the future, writes Bloomberg.
While Apple started work on a foldable iPhone many years ago, it hasn’t shown much interest in bringing such a device to market yet. This approach is not unusual for Apple, which often prefers to start in an already established category, offering a more advanced gadget, as was the case with the iPhone in 2007, which was not the first smartphone, but revolutionized. The company also has no incentive to remake its current iPhone line, as it already dominates the premium smartphone market.
Omdia analyst Jusy Hong opined that the foldable smartphone segment is not yet large enough to take a significant share from the iPhone, which occupied 77% of the market for smartphones over $751 last year.
According to Neil Mawston, director of research at Strategy Analytics, releasing an unmarketable foldable smartphone too soon could destroy the entire iPhone franchise. “If by 2025, when industry revenue is approaching tens of billions of dollars, Apple does not have a foldable iPhone or iPad on sale, then we will start to worry a little,” he noted.
At the moment, foldable devices are available only on the Android platform, and Samsung Electronics is the leader in this market. It competes with Google, as well as Chinese brands including Xiaomi, Huawei, Tecno, Vivo and Oppo, as well as Honor.
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