Honor said it will launch its first flip phone before the end of this year as it looks to challenge Samsung and Motorola in the foldable phone subcategory.
Honor is now in the “final stages” internally so it is “preparing to launch a flip phone,” CEO George Zhao told CNBC on Tuesday. This marks a significant expansion of the Chinese company’s foldable phone portfolio, which currently consists only of book-type foldable phones.
The emergence of flip phones on the market in recent years has marked the return of clamshell phones that were popularized decades ago. Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Flip just five weeks after the launch of Motorola’s Razr Plus in 2023. Both phones feature dramatic redesigns centered around the front screen. The Razr Plus, for example, has a large 3.6-inch cover screen that raises the bar for flip phones. Until then, I had a small external display that was great for more than just checking notifications. Oppo, China’s top mobile phone manufacturer, shook up flip phone design by introducing a vertical cover screen for the 2022 Find N2 Flip.
Honor’s Magic V2 foldable is lighter than Samsung’s Galaxy S24 Ultra.
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Learn more: Highlights of Samsung’s new flip phone, the return of the clamshell
Although foldable phones are still a niche market, sales of both book-style phones and flip phones are expected to surge. According to IDC forecasts, global foldable shipments are expected to reach 20.4 million units in 2023, growing 43.9% compared to 2022. Last year, IDC predicted that foldable phones would account for 3.5% of the total market share by 2027.
“We are very positive about the future of foldables,” Zhao said.
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