The folding phone market before the iPhone Duo hits shelves

(Dan Tri) - Experts expect iPhone Duo to contribute to the strong growth of the folding screen smartphone market in the last months of 2026.

According to a report from Counterpoint Research, Samsung is the leading manufacturer of the foldable smartphone market in 2025 with a 40% market share. The next positions belong to Huawei (30% market share), Motorola (12% market share) and Honor (7% market share).

Samsung is currently the leading manufacturer in the folding phone segment (Photo: The Anh)

Folding phones currently only account for about 2% of the total global smartphone market. That shows that the growth potential for this segment is still very large.

Experts predict that global production of folding screen smartphones will reach a cumulative milestone of 100 million devices by 2026. At the same time, the market will accelerate with the number of shipped devices increasing by 37% in 2027.

"Apple's participation will certainly increase competition in the high-end segment. However, foldable phones still only account for a very small part of the overall smartphone market. Therefore, this segment has room to grow beyond its current volume," Research Director Tarun Pathak shared.

Counterpoint Research forecasts that iPhone Duo production will reach 6 million devices by 2026. This is expected to help give Apple 25% of the global market share and rise to 2nd place, behind Samsung (38%) and ahead of Huawei (22%).

In the Vietnamese market, Samsung is currently also the leading brand in the folding screen phone segment. The company's products span many price segments, including vertical folding phones and horizontal folding models.

OPPO brings folding phones to the Vietnamese market for the first time since 2023 with the Find N2 Flip phone model. To date, this brand has focused on the high-end horizontal folding screen phone segment with the OPPO Find N6 model.

Honor also distributes genuine folding phones with two generations V3 and V5. However, this manufacturer has not revealed plans to bring the latest version of Magic V6 to the Vietnamese market or not.

Meanwhile, Motorola, although it has just returned to the Vietnamese market, has also entered the folding phone segment with the horizontally folding Motorola Razr Fold and the Motorola Razr 60 with a clamshell folding design.

Apple is the fifth manufacturer to officially distribute folding screen phones in Vietnam. On the evening of October 16, users could pre-order iPhone Duo through Apple's online store and authorized retail systems.

iPhone Duo is expected to promote the growth of the folding phone market (Photo: The Verge).

However, the product quickly fell out of stock due to limited supply. Customers may even have to wait until the end of January 2027 to receive the device.

"The number of phones in the first batch is limited, so the appointment date is based on the order in which the deposit is completed, and the accompanying incentives also apply according to the rate and are subject to change. We prioritize providing customers with clear and transparent information right at the time they deposit," Mr. Nguyen Lac Huy, communications representative of CellphoneS system, shared.

iPhone Duo is offered by Apple with a starting price of 65 million VND for the 256GB version. Versions with larger storage capacity such as 512GB, 1TB and 2TB are priced at 71.5 million VND, 84.5 million VND and 104 million VND respectively.

The device has 2 color options including Starlight White and Night Sky. The first batch of iPhone Duo units will be delivered to users at 8:00 a.m. October 23.

"Apple's first foldable iPhone has received a lot of attention from users. The price is not a barrier for high-end customers. However, long-term shortages can push up the price of iPhone Duo in the secondary market," a representative of Mobile America shared.

If you love the large-screen multitasking experience, order the genuine iPhone Duo product from October 16 at CellphoneS with a discount of up to 5 million VND. In addition to the iPhone 18 series, which is already in stock at CellphoneS, in all colors red, blue,... a full set of 0% installment payment privileges, old-sale price subsidy comes into existence and is committed to keeping the S-Buyback price back at least 65% in 15 months.