Huawei and Samsung lead the way, these few folding screen smartphones are the focus of this year’s 618 promotion

Huawei and Samsung dominate folding screen smartphones in this year's 618 promotion

According to data compiled by CINNO Research, a market research firm, the sales volume of foldable screen smartphones in the Chinese market reached 2.83 million units in 2022, a significant increase of 144.4% year-on-year. Looking at the data for each quarter, the sales volume of foldable smartphones in China has continued to grow positively for 9 consecutive quarters. This is actually quite amazing because in 2022, the entire smartphone market, including foldable screen smartphones, experienced a significant decline in shipments. In the Chinese market, the total shipments of smartphones for the whole year are only about 280 million units. Therefore, the counter-trend growth of the foldable screen smartphone market is quite special in the entire industry.

Domestic foldable screen smartphones

Compared to regular smartphones, foldable screen models have many advantages, including a larger screen display area, a cooler design, stronger recognition, higher technological content, and so on. Previously, the production cost of foldable screens was very high, so the sales price was often not affordable for ordinary consumers. Fortunately, after the strong efforts of manufacturers, the price of foldable screen smartphones has dropped significantly, and is now almost comparable to that of regular flagship smartphones.

Currently, the 618 promotion has already started. PhoneAuto has noticed that this year’s foldable screen smartphone market is very lively. Many mainstream manufacturers have highly competitive products for sale. The following five models may be the most worth paying attention to.

• vivo V29 Lite 5G released, equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 695, priced at about 2700 yuan
• 618 easy bottom-fishing for high cost-effective mobile phones, just follow the JD discount bestseller list to buy
• Huawei MatePad offers intelligent assistance for learning and light office work, while the HarmonyOS team experience doubles

Looking at the world as a whole, Samsung is actually the leader in foldable screen smartphone sales. Moreover, among mainstream smartphone manufacturers, Samsung was also the first to launch foldable screen models. Therefore, Samsung can be said to be one of the manufacturers with the deepest accumulation in this area.

Samsung Z Fold4

Currently, compared to the previous generation product, Samsung’s Z Fold4 has mainly improved in three aspects: weight, performance, and imaging. According to official data, the Samsung Z Fold4 has upgraded its core processor to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ mobile platform built by TSMC 4nm. The rear main camera has been upgraded from 12 million pixels to 50 million pixels, and the weight has been reduced from 271g to 263g. In other aspects, the Samsung Z Fold4 continues to provide a maximum of 12GB+512GB version, built-in 4400mAh capacity battery, equipped with a 7.6-inch internal screen and a 6.2-inch external screen, and both internal and external screens support a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

Why recommend this Samsung phone? Because according to the information from JD.com, Samsung Z Fold4 has currently reduced its price by 1,300 yuan, and the starting version is available for 11,699 yuan. In the price range of around ten thousand yuan, Samsung’s Z Fold4 is definitely the most worthy of attention. Of course, if you are not used to using Samsung’s One UI operating system, or want to choose a domestic folding screen phone, then the following model may be more suitable for you.

According to research data from IDC and CINNO Research and other research institutions, Huawei P50 Pocket is the best-selling folding screen phone product in the Chinese market in the first three quarters of 2022. In November 2022, Huawei Pocket S officially arrived. This product is in a sense the successor of P50 Pocket. At that time, this Pocket S was one of the cheapest folding screen phones on the market. Now, PhoneAuto noticed that this model’s price has been reduced by 1,000 yuan again during 618, and the starting price is only 4,988 yuan.

Huawei Pocket S

Although Huawei Pocket S is not like many other folding screen phones that have almost reached the extreme in all aspects, this phone may be the most suitable folding screen phone for ordinary consumers to purchase. The reason for this, besides the aforementioned “cheap,” is its “lightweight.” According to official information, the thickness of Huawei Pocket S is 7.2mm, and the weight is only 190g, which is already lighter than many ordinary smartphone products. This undoubtedly makes it very suitable for daily use.

Although the price is very cheap, Huawei Pocket S has not compromised on configuration. Currently, this phone is equipped with a 6.9-inch OLED screen, supporting a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, and a built-in 4000mAh battery with a maximum 40W fast charging. In addition, the phone has a rear dual-camera system with 40 million pixels and 13 million pixels, and a front camera that supports 10.7 million pixel photo shooting.

In fact, before the OPPO Find N2, the OPPO Find N first generation folding screen achieved good market performance. Therefore, Find N2 basically continues the design concept of the previous generation of products. Although this is a horizontally folding product, its control of weight and configuration is also quite good.

OPPO Find N2

Compared with the previous generation of products, the weight of OPPO Find N2 has been reduced from 275g to 233g, which is almost the same as ordinary flagship phones. The charging system has been upgraded from 33W to 67W. At the same time, the rear camera system of OPPO Find N2 has also been upgraded from 50 million pixels + 16 million pixels + 13 million pixels to three flagship lenses with 50 million pixels + 480 million pixels + 32 million pixels. Moreover, on this phone, OPPO has also collaborated with Hasselblad to bring more powerful camera algorithms. Therefore, this can also be considered a “camera flagship”.

Currently, during this year’s 618 period, the price of OPPO Find N2 has not been reduced, and the 12GB + 256GB version is still priced at 7,999 yuan. Although there is no price reduction, in fact, this indicates the strength of this phone, and the official may feel that there is no need to attract consumers by reducing the price. At the same time, this also proves that the OPPO Find N2’s resale value is actually relatively high. The official chooses not to reduce the price, and the transaction price on the second-hand platform is generally higher.

In the market for small foldable screens, vivo is actually a newcomer, with its related products released later than competitors such as Samsung, Huawei, and OPPO. However, even so, this vivo X Flip is one of the small foldable screen phones that the author thinks should not be ignored during this year’s June 18th promotion. Although the price of this model may not be cheaper than the Huawei Pocket S, the Zeiss imaging technology and the 3-inch large external screen are enough to attract a large number of consumers.

vivo X Flip

For many users who like to take selfies, the 3-inch external screen equipped with the vivo X Flip can be said to be a “magic mirror”. Generally speaking, the quality of the rear camera system of a mobile phone is stronger than that of the front camera system. It is also the same on the vivo X Flip. Currently, the phone has a triple camera system with 50 million pixels + 32 million pixels + 12 million pixels. With the help of this external screen, users can easily take 50 million pixel selfies with the rear camera, because the external screen can display the viewfinder screen in real time. It should be noted that the rear camera system of the vivo X Flip is supported by Zeiss, and its selfie strength is definitely stronger than many so-called “selfie flagships”.

Currently, the vivo X Flip has not been discounted during this year’s June 18th promotion. This situation is actually related to the release time of the phone (end of April). Currently, on the official channel, the price of the vivo X Flip’s 12GB + 256GB version is 5999 yuan, and the price of the 12GB + 512GB version is 6689 yuan. For users who have high requirements for small foldable screen phones, the vivo X Flip may be your best choice.

In 2020, Xiaomi began to fully attack the high-end smartphone market. Now, they have achieved quite good results. According to statistics from research institutions, in the first quarter of 2023, Xiaomi 13 is the best-selling domestic high-end smartphone. On the Xiaomi MIX Fold2, we can see that Xiaomi already has a deep understanding and grasp of high-end smartphones.

Xiaomi MIX Fold2

The Xiaomi MIX Fold2 offers a variety of colors, among which the Starry Gold and Moonlight Silver may be the two most attractive to consumers. In addition, Xiaomi has launched a special customized gift box for these two colors. In addition to the phone itself, the gift box also includes a Xiaomi smartwatch and a true wireless Bluetooth headset. Even if we ignore these external “packaging”, the Xiaomi MIX Fold2 itself is a good folding screen phone, with Snapdragon 8+ platform, 120Hz refresh rate for both internal and external screens, 50 million pixel Leica main camera, 4500mAh battery capacity, 269g weight, and so on, all of which are the reasons why this model attracts consumers.

During the 618 promotion period, the Xiaomi MIX Fold2 has a discount of up to RMB 1000, with a starting price of only RMB 7999. Considering that this is a model that has been on the market for a long time, this discount is very normal. In addition, the official also provides a 24-month interest-free installment and a maximum subsidy of 1500 yuan for trade-in. It can be said that although Xiaomi has already established a foothold in the high-end market, this folding screen phone still has a high cost-effective element.

According to the expectations of many institutions, the “spring breeze” of the smartphone market may come in the second half of 2023. At that time, the global market may welcome a recovery. From the current point of view, the folding screen phone market may have the opportunity to achieve higher growth in the second half of this year with the help of this “spring breeze”. And in this year’s 618 promotion, we may witness the first carnival of the market’s recovery.

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