Apple's long-awaited entry into the foldable smartphone segment could reshape the industry's competitive space far more quickly than previously expected. According to a new report by Smart Analytics Global (SAG).
The launch of Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to become a major turning point for the market. Rather than merely competing with Samsung and Huawei, the tech giant’s arrival is expected to accelerate mainstream adoption of foldable devices and push the industry toward a new generation of form factors.
The report describes Apple's expected launch in the second half of 2026 as a defining moment for the foldable smartphone industry. The research firm believes Apple's ecosystem, brand loyalty and premium positioning could significantly expand the addressable market instead of simply taking customers away from Android rivals.
It is assumed that Apple would roll out its first foldable iPhone without any delays in manufacturing, shipping, or reliability problems and at the set price of about $2,000 in 2026. In this case, Apple would occupy the first position among all other competitors in the global foldable smartphone market by 2027. Nevertheless, SAG considers possible negative influences of technical problems during manufacturing processes.
Currently, Huawei is the leading company in global shipments of foldable phones. The market share of the company was around 40% in Q1 2026, although there was a decline compared to the year earlier followed by increasing competition in the segment. At the same time, the share of Samsung increased nearly twice to 25% owing to high shipments of Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Furthermore, Honor managed to increase its position in the premium segment of foldable smartphones, which indicates increasing competition between manufacturers even before the release of Apple's products. According to SAG's forecast, Huawei and Samsung will keep their leadership in the short term, but everything may change after the entry of Apple into the market.
Besides the vendor rankings, another key development mentioned in the report is the advancement of foldable smartphone designs. The traditional book-style foldables and small flip phones have matured to some extent and manufacturers are moving to wider fold and flip designs for their superior display ratio and multitasking capability.
According to the report, the conventional large foldable phones comprised about 69% of the worldwide shipments in Q1 2026, whereas the shipments of wide-fold phones were still limited. According to the prediction of SAG, the wide-fold phones will be the next growth engine of the industry, accounting for nearly 20 million unit shipments in 2027. The Pura X and Pura X Max of Huawei are two examples of such wide foldable devices.
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Despite slower growth in the broader smartphone market, analysts believe foldables continue to show long-term potential. The analysts expect Android manufacturers to post relatively modest growth over the next two years as they adapt to Apple's arrival and rising production costs. At the same time, the tech giant’s entry is expected to expand consumer awareness, strengthen carrier support and encourage wider adoption of foldable smartphones.