Samsung Claims 69% of Global Foldable Market in Q3

Smart Analytics Global reports Samsung held 69% of the global foldable smartphone market in Q3 2026, its highest share since 2023.

SAG said the overall foldable market shrank 2% year over year to 7.5 million units shipped in the quarter.

SAG attributed Samsung’s performance to the Galaxy Z Fold8, which accounted for over half of Samsung’s global foldable shipments for the period and helped the company achieve "double-digit" growth of foldable shipments in Europe and South Korea.

Independent analyst Ice Universe reported Samsung shipped approximately 2.85 million Z Fold8 units in the 55 days between the phone’s August 7 launch and the quarter end on September 30. Ice Universe said that figure represents about 55% of Samsung’s foldable shipments and works out to more than 50,000 units per day.

SAG reported Huawei lost four percentage points of share but remained in second place. Lenovo/Motorola gained two percentage points after rolling the Razr 70 series into new regions. Other brands saw their market share decline significantly.

SAG noted the Q3 data precedes Apple’s iPhone Duo shipments, which began on October 23, so the Duo is not included in the quarter’s figures. SAG said it revised down its full-2026 estimate partly because of Apple’s production problems with the Duo and because demand for foldables in China has been lower than expected.

SAG said lower-than-expected demand in China is also a major factor in Huawei’s decline. The company added that the non-folding Huawei Pura X View has cannibalized sales of the Pura X and Pura X Max, which helped kick off the wide foldable trend.

SAG forecast the global foldable market will grow 55% year over year in 2027 and projected Apple could capture about 40% of the market once iPhone Duo production stabilizes. SAG expects the iPhone Duo, the Galaxy Z Fold8 and other wide foldables to account for roughly two-thirds of the foldable market next year.

The figures come from Smart Analytics Global’s Smartphone 360 research service and the Ice Universe shipping estimate cited above.