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The resurgence of foldable phones, albeit ones with screens that can bend, illustrates the apathy of smartphone makers. For years, handset innovation has been limited to screen size, frame thickness and display clarity. The result is a decline in sales.
This year, the International Data Corporation expects shipments of smartphones to fall 4.7 per cent to a decade-low. It is the second year of decline. IDC points the finger at a weak global economy. But paucity of ideas contribute to the lull.
In the developed world, smartphone penetration will exceed 90 per cent of adults this year, according to Deloitte. Companies are overly reliant on customers renewing old phones by habit. The evolution from flip phones to keyboards to touch screens and back is uninspiring. Indeed by 2027 IDC expects foldable phones to have conquered just 3.5 per cent of the market.
The impact is already clear in chip sales. Arm, whose technology is used in nearly all smartphones, reported a near 1 per cent drop in revenues for the past fiscal year.
What could boost the sector? Significant improvements in battery life so users are not tethered to power sources would help. So would complete global range via low-orbit satellites, along with the addition of artificial intelligence features that fully personalise phone services.
The saving grace for companies is customer tolerance for high prices. The foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, for example, costs $1,800. See also the success of a new Huawei handset released in China this week and priced above $900.
Apple sets the industry standard for navigating market saturation and fluctuating demand via bigger bills. Data from Omdia estimates that iPhone shipments fell nearly 12 per cent in the second quarter compared with the previous year. Yet company earnings show iPhone revenue fell just 2.5 per cent.
The first iPhone, released in 2007, cost $499. If prices rose in line with inflation, the latest iPhones would sell for $736. Compare that with the top end model of the new iPhone 15 due next month at $1,299. High-end customers certainly have no apathy.
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