Indian foldable smartphone revenue to cross Rs 6,300 crore by 2023-end

Foldable smartphones are predicted to contribute more than 1.8 per cent of overall smartphone revenues in 2023, Techarc said

Foldable smartphone revenue in India will exceed Rs 6,300 crore by the end of 2023, reported Financial Express (FE), quoting industry analyst firm Techarc.

Higher sales can be ascribed to smartphone makers in the segment being able to present a value proposition for foldable phones, it said.

Analysts also believe that the growing trend of affordability for the foldable smartphone market will also boost growth.

Growth of foldable smartphones in India

Foldable smartphones are predicted to contribute more than 1.8 per cent of overall smartphone revenues in 2023, with over 635,000 sold during the year, Techarc said.

In 2022, around 500,000 units of foldable smartphones were sold in India, and in the current year the same is expected to increase marginally to about 0.8 million, analysts said.

Estimates about the growth of the segment are significant since customers want expensive devices, and smartphone makers have addressed the affordability concern through financing schemes.

The market for foldable smartphones is divided into two categories: H-fold (flip smartphones) and V-Fold (book fold smartphones). Flip smartphones are estimated to account for 64 per cent of sales in 2023, said Teacharc.

Foldable smartphones such as the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra, Motorola Razr 40, Oppo Find N2 Flip, Tecno Phantom V Fold, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 are among the current options available in the market.

Samsung is also likely to launch a redesigned version of its fold and flip smartphones in the near future.

Content strategies to attract customers

The analyst firm also conducted a poll of 650 high-end smartphone consumers who now own phones valued at more than Rs 50,000.

"We found that ease of content consumption was the primary reason for them to consider purchasing this niche form factor. Among the inhibitors, durability remains the top concern that makes them reluctant to purchase one," Techarc stated.

To increase the market share of foldable phones, firms must also consider exclusive content strategies to attract foldable smartphone purchasers, which may be accomplished by giving bundled content subscriptions, it added.