On Sunday, Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple's competitors are doubling down on the Foldable Smartphone form factor to Challenge Apple's Dominance in the Premium Space." At one point, the report stated that "while Apple is likely to be last to the party, a premium foldable iPhone from Apple would likely sell more units than all their competitors combined in a single quarter after it's release." Today, a new analytical report on foldables presents research that indicates that foldable smartphones from Apple would be supported by 39% of the U.S. market. At least in the U.S., it could overtake Samsung in it's debut quarter as iPhone do every Q4.

Research Director of North America Jeff Fieldhack: While “Samsung remains the first choice for foldable smartphones in the US. However, there is a lot of vacuum and excitement among consumers for a foldable iPhone, which is evident in the survey," presented below.

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The foldable market is experiencing rapid growth in sales and is expected to continue growing in the coming years with the entry of more OEMs and developments around foldable technology. In 2022, the foldables category occupied 1.1% of global smartphone shipments, but it scored a vital presence in the ultra-premium segment, taking about 7% of shipments of smartphones priced above $800. The ultra-premium space is Apple's market category.

In the US, the high prices of foldable smartphones have essentially kept out young users from the market. High-income middle-aged American users have been the primary users of foldable smartphones. A more affordable price tag would expand the target user base.

Apart from the convenience of portability, foldables enhance user experience through immersive display, better selfies through the rear camera, and multitasking. For more, read the full Counterpoint report.

While the survey pointed to 49% preferring the flip style over 35% for the book-type, I'd definitely be in the book style camp after seeing Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 present Patently Apple's patent figures at a whole new level. I've never liked flip style phones personally, even though it's clearly preferred by the majority in the survey.

Patently Apple's foldable device patent archive illustrates that Apple is working on a few styles of foldables for iPhones and iPads. For example, here's one patent for a flip style  and one for a book style.  

What style of foldable smartphone would you prefer to see from Apple initially? Send in your comments below or on our Twitter feed.