Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 back in August, and they quickly took off, becoming some of the most popular foldable smartphones on the market. Everyone expected the Galaxy Z Flip 3 to do well, due to its great price tag, and it appears that it helped Samsung become the most popular foldable smartphone maker.

According to a new report from research firm Omida, the foldable smartphone market increased rapidly, reaching 9 million shipments, and resulting in 309% year-on-year increase. Of those, 8 million units were sold in the second half of 2021, accounting for 89% of the total shipment in 2021.

Samsung dominated the foldable smartphone market, and it managed to ship over 10 million devices, accounting for more than 88% of the foldable smartphone market. Samsung introduced nine foldable smartphones to this date, and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3 were undoubtedly its most successful foldable smartphones yet.

Omdia Foldable smartphone market 2021.jpeg

Source: Omdia

The report claims that Samsung managed to ship 4.6 million Galaxy Z Flip 3 models, making it the world’s largest foldable smartphone model, accounting for 52% of foldable smartphone market in 2021. The Galaxy Z Flip 3 retailed for $999, and it was $380 cheaper than its predecessor. The Galaxy Z Fold 3 was the second most shipped foldable smartphone in 2021, and Samsung shipped a total of 2.5 million units. The device cost $1,800, which was $200 cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 2 from 2020.

HUAWEI managed to get third place in the foldable smartphone market, and it managed to ship 0.9 million units, accounting for 10% of the market share in 2021. The report states that the US sanctions didn’t help HUAWEI establish its foldable smartphones outside of China, and it was only able to sell 4G devices. HUAWEI also launched a Galaxy Z Flip 3 competitor called the HUAWEI P50 Pocket, and it launched at $1,400 in China.

Xiaomi unveiled the Mi Mix Fold in the first half of 2021, and the sales didn’t meet expectations, although the company is rumored to introduce the second-generation of its foldable smartphone in the first half of 2022. OPPO also joined the race with the recently announced OPPO Find N, and we even heard that the company was unable to produce enough devices due to the high demand.

Other companies such as HONOR also joined the foldable smartphone race with the HONOR Magic V, which takes on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 with the foldable form factor. There are more companies reportedly experimenting and working on foldable devices, and we are yet to see Google and Apple, some of the biggest brands, join the race and try capturing more market share.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 in Black Product box image
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G is the latest foldable flagship from Samsung. It has an IPX8 certificate, supports the S Pen, and comes with the powerful Snapdragon 888 chipset.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

Galaxy Z Flip 3 is the phone to get if you've been itching to try out the folding form factor without breaking the bank.