Apple could quickly become one of the largest players in the foldable smartphone market, with a new forecast suggesting the company will capture 25% of global shipments in 2026. The projection places Apple in second place during its first year in the category.
Counterpoint Research expects global foldable smartphone shipments to grow 21% year over year in 2026, helped by Apple’s expected entry into the premium book-style foldable segment. Samsung is forecast to remain the market leader, although its share could fall from 40% in 2025 to 32% in 2026.
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Huawei is expected to rank third with a 24% share, followed by Motorola at 8% and HONOR at 3%. Other smartphone brands are projected to account for the remaining 8% of global shipments.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone is widely expected to use a shorter and wider design that offers more screen space for videos, multitasking, document editing, and AI-based features. This form factor also appears similar to Samsung’s new Galaxy Z Fold8, which now uses a wider passport-style layout.
Counterpoint believes larger foldable screens will become more useful as AI tools expand into daily tasks such as managing schedules, editing content, summarizing documents, and moving information between apps.
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