Narrative: Global Foldable Smartphone Shipments by Vendor by type Q1 2026

Foldable smartphone shipments fell 10% YoY in Q1 2026, with booklet designs leading while memory constraints shape vendor competition.

The foldable smartphone market entered a seasonal trough in Q1 2026, with total shipments declining 10.0% year-over-year. Booklet designs extended their lead, accounting for 65.0% of shipments, as Huawei’s commanding position in the Chinese booklet segment drove the category. Flip shipments contracted more sharply, with Huawei, Samsung, and Motorola now separated by razor-thin margins at the top. The global memory shortage is emerging as a new competitive variable, with supply access and cost management increasingly differentiating vendor trajectories across both form factors.