Huawei and Apple bend to a tougher market with foldable phones as memory crunch bites
Highly anticipated foldable launches from Apple and Huawei Technologies next week are expected to offer a much-needed lifeline to a subdued global smartphone market, which is bracing for an estimated 17 per cent decline in 2026. Apple’s September 9 event has the industry watching closely, with expectations building for its first foldable iPhone to take centre stage alongside standard model…
Next week, Apple and Huawei plan to unveil foldable smartphones, hoping to revive a stagnant global smartphone market facing an estimated 17 percent decline by 2026. The industry will be closely watching Apple's September 9 event, where it is expected to debut its first foldable iPhone alongside regular model updates and the unveiling of new CEO John Ternus. The event will occur just two days after Huawei introduces its upgraded trifold Mate XT 2.
Analysts believe Apple's entry into the foldable market will help lift the sluggish smartphone sector, which is suffering from soaring component costs. IDC's senior research director, Nabila Popal, expects Apple to ship over 17 million foldable iPhones by 2027, capturing around 40 percent of the global foldable market. She noted that Apple could challenge Huawei and Samsung for leadership in markets it has previously dominated.
The memory shortage, a result of surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, is hitting hardware manufacturers hard in the second half of 2026, causing a more than 27 percent year-on-year decline in shipments. This, combined with rising component costs, is driving smartphone prices up by approximately 27 percent this year, reaching an average of US$581. The era of cheap smartphones has come to an end, with winners expected to be vendors with supply scale and leverage to maintain high prices.
Written by urgent.news from SCMP Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.