On Wednesday, Alphabet Inc. 's Google unveiled its first folding-screen phone, the Pixel Fold, at an event, a move that means all major brands running the Android (Android) operating system on the market now have folding-screen mobile devices。

At the same time, it makes Apple Inc. the only smartphone brand in the world that does not have a foldable screen in its portfolio.。Although Apple began working on foldable iPhones several years ago, the company has shown little interest in bringing such products to market, putting it on the sidelines in a trend that is expected to generate tens of billions of dollars in the next few years.。

 

The iPhone has already made a lot of money. There is no hurry to fold the screen.

 

Apple usually doesn't fight unprepared battles, the company usually takes it one step at a time, and then launches more sophisticated products to enter the market in order to gain more market share。For example, Apple's first smartphone, the iPhone, launched in 2007, has been popular to this day.。

And because Apple has always dominated the high-end smartphone market, the company doesn't have that much incentive to modify its current iPhone product line.。

But has been adhering to the concept of slow work out of fine work, so that Apple is likely to be many years behind competitors in the field of folding screen, although the folding screen phone in the smartphone market is only a small part, but its high pricing, can quickly help low-level brands successfully enter the ranks of the high-end market。Some market watchers expect this segment to be the fastest growing segment of smartphones.。

Neil Mawston, research director at Strategy Analytics, a consumer electronics research firm, said the question is whether Apple will eventually help solidify the concept of foldable products or will it miss it。

"Apple has the ability to determine the success or failure of the foldable device industry in the future," he said.。Released too soon, a foldable product that is not ready on the market could ruin the entire iPhone range.。If Apple doesn't have a foldable iPhone or iPad on sale by 2025, when industry revenues will approach tens of billions of dollars, then we'll start to get a little worried.。"

On May 4, Apple released its earnings report for the fiscal second quarter ended April 1, 2023.。Apple's total second-quarter revenue during the reporting period was 948, according to earnings data.$3.6 billion。Among other things, the company's iPhone business recorded revenue growth of 2% year-over-year to 513.$300 million, well ahead of market expectations, a record high for the same period, a highlight of the earnings report。

As you can see, most of Apple's revenue comes from the iPhone series, which has been continuously improved every year and has not made major leaps in design or functionality for many years。So far, sales of foldable phones have not been big enough to take a meaningful share away from Apple。

According to Omdia analyst Jusy Hong, Apple controlled 77% of the $751-plus phone market last year.。

 

Local brands rely on foldable devices to compete for customers

 

At present, the folding screen mobile phone is still an Android-only competition, dominated by Samsung Electronics on the global stage.。But in China, competition is more intense, and local brands are using such devices to go high-end。Huawei, Vivo and Oppo currently have a number of folding screen phones on the market.。Independent Brand Glory, which spun off from Huawei in 2020, also helped make the segment more affordable this year with its Honor Magic Vs device.。

Chinese brands are under increasing pressure to differentiate their products and encourage users to upgrade, especially as the global mobile phone industry stagnates。Shipments in the domestic smartphone market have seen double-digit declines over the past year。Unlike Apple, which fosters a virtuous cycle in which customers upgrade their iPhones every few years, more alternative Android brands must win customers back with each new device。The option of a foldable screen device helps to achieve this。

In response, Billy Zhang, Oppo's president of overseas sales and services, said: "Folding is the future and is critical to Oppo's overall product strategy.。"。His view was echoed by Huawei Glory, which expects China to become the first market where foldable products begin to lead the high-end market.。A Huawei Glory spokesperson said that close cooperation with local suppliers has helped to quickly increase portability and affordability, and 90% of the top 5000 applications in China have been adapted to foldable devices。

 

Flexible display screen becomes a technical obstacle

 

The development of foldable devices is capital-intensive because it requires the design and improvement of durable and thin hinges。Further innovations are needed, such as Samsung's ultra-thin glass screen cover, which can get a familiar glass-like feel on a surface that can be bent and curved。

Until this week, Google's involvement in the foldable space was limited to software。The Alphabet-owned company, which develops Android, has been working with Samsung since launching its first Galaxy Fold phone in 2019 to enable the operating system and its apps to work with such devices.。IDC's Bryan Ma said its own Pixel Fold could provide welcome competition for Samsung, which still enjoys a first-mover advantage with a 79% share of the global market.。

Mobile industry veteran and CCS Insight analyst Ben Wood and Omdia's Hong said that for Apple, its first entry into this category is more likely to be its tablet iPad than a foldable iPhone.。

Wood expects that in 2024, Apple may launch a "super high-end iPad with flexible display."。At the same time, Hong Lei believes that the crease in the middle of the folding screen is the main obstacle to Apple's adoption。This defect has been greatly improved since the first generation of Samsung devices, but even in the latest models, this defect still exists。As we all know, the iPhone manufacturer has high requirements for the choice of display technology。

"It's unthinkable that Apple hasn't experimented with flexible display technology in its product development labs for more than a decade," Wood said.。"。"The strength of the existing iPhone portfolio and the high profit margins it has earned have made it unnecessary for Apple to react to rival folding smartphone devices.