On March 4, a reporter from China** Daily visited a number of Huawei mobile phone stores in Beijing and found that the latest small folding flagship Huawei Pocket 2, which was officially launched on March 1, has been sold out of stock in many popular colors. A clerk said: "The product is selling too well, and at present, I can only make reservations in popular colors such as Tahitian gray and rococo white." "At present, folding screen mobile phones are regarded by major mobile phone manufacturers as important products to fill the market segment, and are launched for different groups of people in business, fashion, photography and other segments. IDC data shows that in 2023, China's folding screen mobile phone market will ship about 70070,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1145%。"Small folding" into a fashion itemOn March 4, the reporter visited a number of mobile phone brand stores in Wukesong, Xidan and Chaoyangmen in Beijing and found that folding screen mobile phones attracted many customers. Among them, Huawei's small folding mobile phone Pocket 2, which has just been officially launched on all channels on March 1, is particularly eye-catching. A number of store clerks told reporters that at present, many popular colors of white, gray and purple in the store have been out of stock, and some stores only have black models and a small amount of stock. The clerk told reporters: "Two days before the release of the model, customers who were scheduled to come to pick up the goods lined up in the store. ”
Pocket 2 product display in Huawei Smart Life Pavilion Beijing Bloomage Live Experience Store Photo by reporter Wang Jinghan According to reports, Huawei Pocket 2 has many innovations. Among them, the screen adopts a basalt waterdrop hinge containing super-strong rocket steel and a floating screen design to improve the flatness and durability of the screen. At the same time, in order to cater to consumers, manufacturers deliberately design the Pocket 2 product to be more fashionable. The reporter saw in the store that the Pocket 2 products have a variety of youthful and fashionable colors and various "eye-catching" accessories. Consumer Xiaoge told reporters that her first reaction when she saw this product was "small and cute, and it can also be equipped with bead chains and belts, like a small handbag". Wei Cong, Huawei store experience consultant of Beijing Bloomage live, told reporters that from the sales in the past few days, many buyers of small folding mobile phones are young people who pursue fashion or need to attend some business occasions, and some are gifts from couples. The clerk of the Xidan Samsung mobile phone store told reporters that the Samsung small folding Galaxy Z Flip5 they recently sold was also mainly given by young people. Ms. Li, a customer, said that she felt that the small fold folded vertically was lighter and suitable for daily carrying, so she bought the OPPO Find N3 Flip and wanted to choose a similar small foldable product for her daughter. iResearch's research found that from the perspective of the user portrait of folding screen mobile phones, in terms of age, the young group of 18-29 years old who love to try new things and the group of 40 years old and above with stable economic income account for a relatively high proportion, and the fashionable design and unique experience of folding screen mobile phones continue to attract young and high-end users, especially female users. Dig into market segmentsAccording to IDC data, the global smartphone market is currently approaching saturation. In 2023, global smartphone shipments will be 11700 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 32%。The shipment volume of China's folding screen mobile phone market is about 70070,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 1145%。Huaxin** research report pointed out that folding screen mobile phones are the only growth segment in the global mobile phone market, and terminal brands are vigorously promoting and accelerating their penetration. According to statistics, at present, Huawei, Samsung, OPPO, Honor and many other mobile phone manufacturers have folding screen products on sale, and Samsung and Huawei have launched their own folding screen mobile phones in 2019. At present, the main folding screen products are still horizontal inward folding styles, and "small folding" products that are vertically folded inward will begin to appear more after 2023. Industry analysts believe that folding screen mobile phones are currently an important product for major mobile phone manufacturers to fill the market segment. Previously, although various brands of mobile phones could also distinguish consumers by differences in **, color and photo performance, it was not as obvious as folding screen products. Horizontal folding products are more suitable for office needs, suitable for business and photography experience;The vertical fold is light and compact, younger and more fashionable, which has become a relatively unified cognition of various manufacturers. The reporter learned that vivo and Xiaomi's new folding screen mobile phones are also expected to be launched in the first half of this year. Tianfeng ** said that it continues to be optimistic about the rapid growth of folding screen mobile phone sales in the Chinese market, and has become the direction of high-end mobile phone iteration. At present, various brands generally say that the folding screen mobile phone screen will not be easily damaged in 3-5 years. With the development of flexible OLED screens and hinge technology, the core technology of folding screen mobile phones is maturing. Huaxin** research report pointed out that the maturity of technology, the improvement of yield and the trough of related materials** have driven the cost of folding screen mobile phones to continue to decline, and the final price is becoming more and more affordable, in the third quarter of 2023, the starting price of folding screen products of various brands has been lower than that of iPhone flagships. Huaxin** said that in 2024-2025, Apple may enter the folding machine market, and the Android camp is currently taking advantage of Apple's window period to use folding machines as an important starting point to promote the high-end of the brand. When Apple enters the game, the folding screen mobile phone market may usher in a wave of explosion. According to Counterpoint's 2023 survey results, the potential purchase intention of global mobile phone users is as high as 55%. A number of institutions believe that the penetration rate of the high-end market of folding screen mobile phones is expected to increase, and if the first can be further explored, there will be an opportunity to enter the "mass mainstream" from the "niche taste". Reviewer: Xiong Yonghong Editor: Zhang Diange Proofreader: Yu Hongbo Producer: Zhang Nan.
Issued by: Ding Jianming