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Nowadays, smartphones have become an indispensable and important tool in people's lives. Whether it is traveling, socializing, or paying, all you need is a smartphone. Therefore, driven by the diversified needs of consumers, the smartphone industry is also booming. However, with the gradual saturation of the market, today's smartphone industry is no longer the same as before, and it seems quite cold. According to IDC data, China's smartphone market shipments in 2022 will be about 286 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 13.2%, the largest decline in history.
However, it is worth mentioning that when the entire smartphone industry is experiencing a "cold winter", the sub-category of folding screen mobile phones has achieved growth against the trend. According to data released by CINNO Research, the sales volume of folding screen mobile phones in the Chinese market will reach 2.83 million units in 2022, a significant increase of 144.4% year-on-year.
Folding screen "hot"
In recent years, more and more mobile phone manufacturers have begun to lay out the folding screen mobile phone market. For example, Huawei brought the first folding screen mobile phone Huawei Mate X in 2019; Xiaomi also launched the first folding screen mobile phone Mi MIX in 2021. Fold. As many mobile phone manufacturers have entered the game one after another, the folding screen mobile phone market has become more and more lively. Behind the competition of mobile phone manufacturers to increase the size of folding screen mobile phones, it is related to many factors.
As a result, consumers' willingness to change phones is gradually declining, and mobile phone manufacturers urgently need to find new growth points. After years of development, the smartphone industry has gradually become saturated, and it can almost be said that everyone has one. At the same time, although the current smartphone replacement speed is very fast, the changes and creativity are relatively limited. In addition, due to the impact of the epidemic in recent years, consumers' consumption concepts have become more rational. Under the superimposed influence of various factors, Consumers' willingness to change phones has declined, and mobile phones have gradually become unsalable. Compared with straight smartphones, folding screen phones can bring a stronger sense of "freshness", which has attracted many consumers to try, and mobile phone manufacturers are expected to find new growth points in the market for folding screen phones.
Second, the continuous iterative upgrading of technology has provided important support for the development of folding screen mobile phones. The biggest feature of folding screen mobile phones is that they can be folded, but this means higher technical requirements. In fact, folding screen mobile phones are not a new product, but due to various factors such as technology, the previous folding screen mobile phones had problems such as obvious screen creases and excessive weight. These problems have affected consumers to a certain extent. Acceptance of mobile phones. With the continuous research and exploration of folding screen technology by mobile phone manufacturers and supply chain companies, technologies such as hinges have made significant progress, thus promoting the development and popularization of folding screen mobile phones.
Thirdly, folding screen mobile phones are one of the important paths for domestic mobile phone manufacturers to break through the high-end market. Although the overall smart phone market is a little cold, the demand for high-end mobile phones is still stable. According to data released by Counterpoint Research, in 2022, global smartphone sales will drop by 12% year-on-year, but sales in the global high-end mobile phone market will increase by 1%, contributing more than 55% to the global mobile phone market revenue.
In recent years, domestic mobile phone manufacturers have accelerated the pace of high-end. However, Apple has already established a firm foothold in the high-end market, and the resistance of other mobile phone manufacturers to break through cannot be underestimated. The sudden emergence of folding screen mobile phones not only has a high market value, but also forms a differentiated competition with Apple. Therefore, folding screen mobile phones have become a new choice for domestic mobile phone manufacturers to hit the high-end market. Various mobile phone manufacturers are vying to deploy folding screen mobile phones The market has become a matter of course.
Huawei "leads the way"
Among the many mobile phone manufacturers deploying the folding screen mobile phone market, Huawei can be said to be one of the best. According to the "Insight Report on China's Folding Screen Mobile Phone Market in 2023" released by iResearch, the domestic market share of Huawei brand folding screen mobile phones will be 51.3% in 2022. above. The reason why Huawei was able to lead the folding screen mobile phone market is worth pondering.
From the perspective of timing, Huawei's early deployment in the field of folding screen mobile phones has a first-mover advantage. Looking back to the past, we can see that Huawei launched its first folding screen mobile phone in 2019. At that time, the competition in the folding screen mobile phone market was not too fierce. Huawei's earlier entry was undoubtedly the early entry into the folding screen mobile phone market. After several years of cultivation, consumers gradually have a better understanding of Huawei's folding screen mobile phones. With the addition of Huawei's own brand influence and brand awareness, its folding screen mobile phone products have also begun to be expected by many consumers.
From the product point of view, Huawei's multi-product layout provides consumers with more choices. It is understood that after years of development, folding screen mobile phones have developed three folding forms: horizontal outward folding, horizontal internal folding and vertical folding. Among them, the horizontal folding screen mobile phone has a larger screen, which can bring consumers a more comfortable large screen. Experience; the vertical folding model is more compact, exquisite, and more portable. Since its development in the folding screen market, Huawei has launched a variety of folding screen mobile phones, covering various folding models such as internal folding, external folding and vertical folding. This also allows Huawei to meet the needs of more consumers and win consumers favor.
From a technical point of view, Huawei's continuous investment in technology research and development has boosted the development of its folding screen mobile phone business. The continuous maturity of technical solutions is one of the important reasons why folding screen mobile phones have developed rapidly and are gradually accepted by consumers. In order to bring consumers a better folding screen experience, Huawei has been continuously cultivating the technical field, and in While enriching technical reserves, it is also constantly innovating in technology.
Taking hinge technology as an example, the hinge is the key to the folding function of the folding screen mobile phone, so its importance is self-evident, and Huawei continues to optimize the hinge structure through continuous innovation of technology. For example, Huawei Mate X2 uses a double-rotation water drop hinge. Through a multi-dimensional phase control linkage mechanism, a water drop-style screen space is formed at the bend, which can not only achieve tight folding, but also ensure the flatness of the unfolded screen.
OPPO "menacing"
Unlike Huawei, which started to lay out the field of folding screens very early, OPPO released folding screen products later. However, as a latecomer, OPPO has not only achieved a fast catch-up, but also achieved quite impressive results. According to the latest data from CINNO Research, in January 2023, the sales volume of folding screen mobile phones in the Chinese market is about 487,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 54% and a month-on-month increase of 57%. Among them, the sales of OPPO folding screen mobile phones increased by 483% year-on-year, ranking first with a market share of 30%.
On the one hand, OPPO continues to promote the lightweight of folding screen mobile phones to solve the pain points of users. As we all know, excessive weight is one of the "slots" for users of folding screen mobile phones. Overweight mobile phones not only affect consumers' experience, but also affect their willingness to purchase folding screen mobile phones. Major mobile phone manufacturers are constantly exploring to reduce the weight of folding screen mobile phones, and OPPO is also continuing to promote the lightweight of folding screen mobile phones. For example, OPPO Find N2 uses an ultra-light and solid Seiko quasi-vertical hinge, and by introducing aerospace-grade super-tough alloy and composite carbon fiber materials, the hinge has achieved a 37% reduction in volume, a 36% reduction in weight, and a 33% increase in strength. , the final body weight dropped to 233 grams.
On the other hand, OPPO continues to make efforts in software adaptation to further optimize the experience of folding screen mobile phones. In addition to weight, software adaptation is also the key to the user experience of folding screen mobile phones. Due to the differences between folding screen mobile phones and bar models, folding screen mobile phones often have the problem of poor adaptation of traditional software applications. Users bring a better software application experience, and mobile phone manufacturers in the field of folding screen mobile phones are also making efforts in software adaptation, and OPPO is no exception.
For example, OPPO has launched a self-developed system-level UI adaptive framework. Through powerful engine capabilities, it can effectively identify and repair problems such as excessive list spacing, excessive image stretching, and out-of-scale controls. Not only that, OPPO is also actively cooperating with other software companies to promote the software adaptation of folding screen mobile phones, so as to bring users a better large-screen experience. It is understood that OPPO, in conjunction with Xiaohongshu, Netease Cloud Music, Clipping and other head applications, has deeply customized an exclusive large-screen experience for Find N2, which has greatly improved the efficiency and details of use.
Difficulties with folding screens
Nowadays, folding screens have become the direction of all major mobile phone manufacturers, and as more and more new players flood into the folding screen mobile phone market, the pace of development of folding screen mobile phones will be further accelerated. It is just undeniable that even though the current folding screen mobile phones have made great progress in terms of product quality and functions compared with the past, Huawei and OPPO also stand out from many mobile phone brands by virtue of their respective advantages. The development of the screen mobile phone field is still facing a severe test.
First, although the popularity of folding screen mobile phones is high, the phenomenon of insufficient production capacity still exists. In the overall sluggish smartphone market, the sub-category of folding screen mobile phones can be described as a bright spot, achieving substantial growth against the trend. However, due to the high technical requirements and high process complexity of folding screen mobile phones, the yield rate is not high. At the same time, there is a big difference between folding screen mobile phones and traditional bar machines, and the supply chain involves many new materials, and the production capacity is relatively limited, which also makes many folding screen products "difficult to find one machine".
Second, consumers still hold a wait-and-see attitude towards folding screen mobile phones, and the habit of using and purchasing folding screen mobile phones still needs to be cultivated. As major mainstream mobile phone manufacturers continue to make efforts in the folding screen mobile phone market, the development of the industry is accelerating. However, due to the high cost of folding screen mobile phones and the low yield rate, the price of folding screen mobile phones is also high, and the high price is also high. To a certain extent, it has affected consumers' willingness to purchase folding screen mobile phones. Not only that, once the folding screen mobile phone is damaged, the maintenance cost will be a lot. Therefore, many consumers still hold a wait-and-see attitude towards folding screen mobile phones.
In general, although there are still many problems in folding screen mobile phones, with the continuous iterative upgrading of related technologies, the continuous investment of mobile phone manufacturers and the gradual maturity of the industrial chain, these problems will always be solved one day. With the gradual improvement of the reliability and durability of folding screen mobile phone products, consumers will also experience a more high-quality folding screen mobile phone experience.