Samsung is no longer the default king of foldables outside China
China continues to be the world’s largest foldable market, and Huawei has cemented itself as the leader there.
For years, the foldable smartphone category had a default leader: Samsung, at least outside of China. Its Galaxy Z Fold and Flip lines defined the segment. But the Q2 2025 shipment numbers tell a different story. The center of gravity has shifted, and Samsung’s once unchallenged dominance has fractured.
Global foldable shipments jumped 45% year-over-year in Q2 2025, signaling a strong rebound after the slowdown of 2024. But Samsung was not the driver of this surge. Instead, the growth story belonged to Huawei in China and Motorola in the US, two brands that capitalized on opposite ends of the market: Huawei at the ultra-premium, Motorola at the entry-level.
Huawei: The Powerhouse of China
China continues to be the world’s largest foldable market, and Huawei has cemented itself as the leader there. Its share of global shipments rose from 32% in Q2 2024 to 45% in Q2 2025, a staggering gain in a crowded space.
Much of this momentum came from the Mate X6, a book-style foldable positioned at the ultra-premium tier. According to Senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang, “The Chinese foldable smartphone market remains robust, with Huawei driving the market. Consumers are gravitating towards the Mate X6 – an ultra-premium book-type foldable – which accounted for over one-third of all foldables shipped by Huawei during Q2 2025.” Huawei’s success underscores a clear trend: in China, the high end is not just resilient, it’s expanding.
