In the previous article "2022 Mobile Phone Market Outlook", we expressed such a view: folding screens will surely usher in an explosive growth in 2022.
You will find that from the spring of 2021 to the present, several mainstream brands, including Xiaomi, OPPO, and Honor, have completed the listing and deployment of folding screen products. Coupled with the two major players of Samsung and Huawei that have already entered the game, so far, in addition to vivo, several major head Android manufacturers have joined the folding screen camp, and vivo, including realme, one plus, ZTE and other brands to launch folding screen mobile phones is only a matter of time.
As the folding screen market becomes hotter, the technology gradually matures, the yield improves, and the product price also declines. The recently released OPPO FindN will directly hit the starting price to less than 8,000 yuan, followed by huawei P50Pocket and honor Magic V basic price are also controlled within 10,000 yuan.
In addition, the old players did not idle. Released only three months after the release of the Samsung W22, the price directly dived 2000 yuan, the original price of 9999 yuan xiaomi MIXFOLD in some third-party platforms has even dropped below 6000 yuan. The original purchase budget of six or seven thousand yuan, is it now possible to buy a folding screen mobile phone?
Near the Spring Festival, in the face of the new machine release of the folding screen and the tide of old price reductions, for many consumers, whether it is gifts or self-use, the presence of folding screen mobile phones is getting higher and higher. Of course, despite this, the folding screen mobile phone is still a new form, whether it is worth buying or not, and how to choose, is the problem we will discuss below.
Horizontal and vertical is a problem
It is precisely because of the running entry of several major Android manufacturers, pinch your fingers, there are as many as 6 mainstream folding screen mobile phones on the market (this does not include the Samsung W22 that has changed the shell), but they are not folding forms, or internal and external screen specifications and parameter configurations, there are great differences.
Therefore, I listed a specification table, from which it can be seen that the folding screen mobile phone is currently mainly divided into two forms: horizontal left and right folding and vertical folding up and down, of which Samsung, which has upstream advantages, has a balanced layout in both forms.
Also early in the entry of Huawei, its first generation of folding screen mobile phone horizontal folding program has gradually faded out of the market, although in addition to the P50Pocket, there is a horizontal folding Mate X2, but due to out-of-stock and price speculation and other reasons, here will not be too much discussion.
So when choosing a folding screen mobile phone, the first question encountered is vertical folding or horizontal folding?
Horizontal folding and vertical folding are two products, which are essentially different in design ideas: the former pursues a larger screen display area based on not affecting portability as much as possible; while the latter will be an ordinary display size mobile phone, through folding, so that it becomes more compact and portable.
At the beginning of the birth of the folding screen mobile phone, it is actually to solve the contradiction between the larger and larger screen and the portability of the mobile phone, so in essence, the task that the full screen wants to complete is the same, that is, to use a smaller fuselage to install a larger screen.
Then, if you are going to the big screen, then the vertical folding screen mobile phone does not have to consider.
From the perspective of meeting the demand for large screens, horizontal folding screen mobile phones that can bring a larger display area are the mainstream, and from the perspective of the proportion of commercially available models, it seems to confirm this.
But the actual sales figures are a slap in the face.
According to the DSCC survey, in the third quarter of this year, the global folding screen mobile phone shipment reached 2.6 million units, an annual increase of 480%, and the shipment of one quarter exceeded the results of the past year. Among them, Samsung took 93% of the share.
According to the distribution of models, the proportion of Samsung Z Flip series is more than 60%, and Z Filp 3 has sold millions of units after its release, which is currently the world's highest-selling folding screen mobile phone.
The reason why the Samsung Z Flip3 sells well is that on the one hand, it comes from more aggressive pricing, 7599 yuan, almost half of the previous generation of products, coupled with a clear market positioning, which helped this phone quickly open the market.
At the same time, the vertical folding screen mobile phone still follows the application ecology of the Android system, and the external screen is only used as a supplement to the message notification, avoiding problems such as application adaptation and dual screen splitting.
Therefore, users want to have a fresh folding experience, but also take into account the appearance and portability, and there is no other learning threshold, vertical folding screen mobile phone is indeed a good choice.
Based on this, the arrival of huawei P50 Pocket is logical.
Compared with the Samsung Z Flip3, Huawei P50Pocket has a larger battery, 40W fast charging, Hongmeng OS, skin health management and other characteristics, but the price is about 1,000 yuan higher, and does not support 5G. So for now, it is still difficult to shake the dominance of Samsung.
Commercial models have different emphases
If the vertical folding screen mobile phone is aimed at the subdivision group, then the horizontal folding screen mobile phone is aimed at a relatively larger market, and Samsung's position is no longer so strong.
According to Counterpoint's estimates, in 2022, the shipment of folding screen mobile phones will increase by 132% annually to 17.5 million units, and the larger cake indicates that all manufacturers will have higher sales growth, and Samsung's market share will be reduced to 74%, which is why Xiaomi, OPPO, and Honor have first used horizontal folding screen mobile phones as a breakthrough.
At the same time, whether it is OPPO Find N's "early adopter to common use", or Honor Magic V's "let the folding screen mobile phone into the main machine" era, it can be found that manufacturers have begun to emphasize the ease of use and practicality of the folding screen.
To make users feel good, the hardware needs to solve the problems of thickness, battery life, creases, etc., and the software needs to be the perfect adaptation of the application experience on the inner and outer screens. Frankly speaking, from these two points, due to technical conditions, several folding screen mobile phones on the market are not perfect, but they have also made their own choices.
OPPO Find N
Advantages: small, portable, shallow creases
Disadvantages: The screen is smaller when expanded
Oppo Find N tucked in a 73mm wide (folded) body with a 5.49-inch 18:9 outer screen. Whether it is the display ratio or the grip, it is very much in line with the habits of daily use of ordinary mobile phones.
After expansion, the OPPO Find N inner screen measures 7.1 inches and the display ratio is 8.4:9, which is about equal to 1:1. This display ratio brings the problem of application adaptation, because almost all application development and content creation are carried out according to the display ratio of 4:3 and 16:9. To this end, OPPO adopts the solution of left and right split screen adaptation and display compatibility mode.
But this is still secondary, the question you really need to consider is that even after the expansion, the inner screen of OPPO Find N is only 7.1 inches, and this year's flagship smartphone, the screen is generally close to 7 inches, in order to have a little more display area, to endure a part of the application adaptation problem, is it worth it.
Of course, if you want to make horizontal folding screen mobile phones "commonly used", the first solution should be the portability problem. In this regard, OPPOFind N is indeed the best done so far.
Honor Magic V
Advantages: The internal and external screens have reached the main level
Disadvantages: Hover is not supported
Honor is completely in accordance with the main machine in the idea of creating Magic V, an obvious feature is the stacking, in addition to the new generation of Snapdragon 8 mobile platform, in the configuration of the internal and external screen, Honor Magic V is also trying to achieve "main force".
The external screen size is 6.45 inches, 21:9 ratio, 120Hz refresh rate, both with a large enough display area, the use of the feeling is no different from a conventional straight phone. In addition, the outer screen is also covered with a layer of nano-crystallite glass-ceramic, which increases the resistance to falling.
The inner screen is a 7.9-inch punched screen with a resolution close to 2K, the refresh rate is 90Hz, and there is no obvious sense of separation in the inner and outer screen experience. The screen ratio is 10:9, which also means that it also solves the problem of the app's display scale. To this end, Honor provides parallel horizons, smart split screens, floating windows and split screen navigation functions to help users make greater use of this large screen. Just no hovering, less playability of the folding screen.
Is the Honor Magic V worth the stacking of materials on the inside and outside screens? Under ideal circumstances, the use of folding screen mobile phones should be far more than ordinary straight mobile phones, so its internal and external screen design is actually to broaden the use of folding screen mobile phones and make them more "useful". If you're constantly switching between phone and tablet, the Honor Magic V is a great alternative.
Samsung Z Flod3
Advantages: Hover application rich, support S Pen
Disadvantages: The outer screen display of the fish is incomplete, and the price is high
As the upstream supply chain manufacturer of folding screens, Samsung has an absolute advantage in hinges, screen materials and effects. Samsung Z Fold3 has come to the third generation, the technology is more mature, the product idea is more complete, such as this time to support the S Pen, there are more hover interactions, not only so that the folding screen mobile phone play more, the application scenarios have become more abundant. If you don't care about the price, then it is still the folding screen phone that is most worth experiencing.
However, it should be pointed out that in terms of the idea of making folding screen mobile phones, Samsung is obviously more inclined to let users use the inner screen, and in order to maintain the grip after folding, the outer screen of Samsung Z Fold3 has chosen a slender "fish screen", this strange screen ratio will be cut when displaying commonly used Apps such as Vibrato and Weibo, which greatly reduces the practicality of the outer screen.
Xiaomi Mi MIX FOLD
Advantages: The price is relatively affordable, 4:3 inner screen ratio
Disadvantages: The system adaptation is insufficient, and there is no high brush on the inner screen
As Xiaomi's exploratory MIX series, whether it is hardware or software experience, Xiaomi MIX FOLD reveals the feeling of "the first generation", such as the internal screen only 60Hz refresh rate, and the external screen is separated from the outer screen; the external screen ratio is special, and the application experience is not good. In addition, in the folding form, mix FOLD can not be rotated from multiple angles, and the opening and closing of the screen is not smooth enough, which has a certain impact on daily use.
Its biggest advantage is actually the inner screen, 8.01-inch 2K resolution, the look and feel is quite good, and there is a four-speaker system, suitable for watching videos, playing games, watching comics and so on. Therefore, although the MIX FOLD has added a PC mode, it has to be said that it is still more suitable for some entertainment scenes, which also makes it more like a tablet.
Xiaomi MIX FOLD put to the present point of view, the biggest advantage should be after the price reduction, relatively high cost performance.
Domestic brands hit the high-end excellent track
Interestingly, at the beginning of the listing of the Xiaomi MIX FOLD, it was actually wearing the aura of "folding screen mobile phone within 10,000 yuan", and now it can be seen that the price of folding screen mobile phones has gradually declined.
In this context, folding screen mobile phones will inevitably attract more consumers willing to try early, for such people, can experience the pain and pleasure of folding screens a little earlier than others, perhaps the most important.
Counterpoint's estimation of the growth of folding screen mobile phone shipments also means the huge growth potential of this type of user, which also makes folding screen mobile phones shoulder the heavy responsibility of domestic brands to impact the high-end.
Judging from the recent launch of several folding screen mobile phones, domestic manufacturers do not lack the ability to innovate, and each manufacturer has come up with its own "housekeeping skills". OPPO has an advantage in eliminating creases; Honor emphasizes the fall resistance and split-screen experience of its products; Huawei has come up with a more fashionable product design...
For domestic manufacturers, the impact of high-end test is technological innovation and brand influence, and the all-round display of folding screen mobile phones in this regard is the best opportunity at present.
Although the current performance of the folding screen in the application ecology is still immature, there is still a breakthrough in the creation of a killer experience, but the folding screen is not a pseudo demand, and even in the office, entertainment and other experiences can solve many pain points.
As for whether the folding screen mobile phone is the future, a very simple truth, when you are used to a larger screen, it is difficult to return to the small screen mobile phone, manufacturers are now so keen on folding screen mobile phones, in fact, in the creation of "dan use is difficult to return", which is why the folding screen mobile phone is now developing in the direction of the main machine.
I believe that in the near future, even if Apple really launches a folding screen mobile phone, domestic manufacturers have been prepared to cultivate a part of the loyal users and will no longer be caught off guard.