(Economic Observation) Technology is becoming more and more mature, and folding screen mobile phones are expected to open up the market
China News Agency, Beijing, April 15 (Reporter Liu Yuying) All Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are deploying folding screen mobile phones.
With the maturity of technology and the decline in prices, folding screen mobile phones are expected to open up the market and counterattack in the declining mobile phone market.
According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, from January to February 2022, the total shipments of mobile phones in China’s domestic market totaled 47.886 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 22.6%, of which 5G mobile phone shipments were 37.698 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 11.0%.
Folding screen mobile phones have stepped out of the road of counterattack.
Data released by the well-known data research agency Omdia in late March showed that since the birth of folding screen mobile phones in 2019, the cumulative global shipments have reached 11.5 million units by the end of 2021.
Among them, the shipment of folding screen mobile phones in 2021 will reach 9 million units, a year-on-year increase of 309%.
The increase in market popularity comes from the continuous maturity of related technologies for folding screen mobile phones.
The core technology of folding screen mobile phone hardware lies in the reliability of flexible panels and hinges.
This week, the vivo X Fold, the first folding screen mobile phone released by vivo, adopts aerospace-grade floating wing hinges and uses six-layer aerospace-grade materials such as liquid metal zirconium alloy and FS53 aviation high-strength steel.
Zhong Xinlong, a senior consultant at the Radio Research Institute of CCID think tank, believes that compared with the previous hinge technology, the aerospace-grade floating wing hinge uses lighter aerospace materials and has improved weight and stress resistance.
The domestic supply chain of folding screen mobile phones is also maturing.
Although vivo uses Samsung screens this time, domestic BOE and Visionox have become mainstream screen suppliers for domestic manufacturers. Saide Semiconductor, Triumph Technology, Huijing Display and other manufacturers announced UTG glass projects last year. R&D progress or plans.
There are also related Chinese companies in materials, flexible circuits, and related equipment.
At present, almost all Chinese mobile phone manufacturers are gathering on the "track" of folding screens, hoping to hedge against the downturn in the market, including major manufacturers such as Huawei, vivo, OPPO, Honor, and Xiaomi.
After releasing a folding screen phone at vivo this month, Huawei will also release the Mate X3 this month.
Zhong Xinlong said that from the perspective of market surveys, consumers generally have a certain negative sentiment towards the "flagship phones" of various brands released in Q1 this year and Q4 last year, and do not agree that this is a flagship phone from experience.
The 309% increase in folding screen mobile phones last year inspired mobile phone manufacturers to actively deploy to make up for the weakness of the high-end market.
Wang Bin, a senior analyst at Zhongcheng Think Tank, believes that in the process of mobile phone evolution, the folding screen is to build and improve the hardware manufacturing process, and to prepare for the future breakthrough of switching logic between different systems. 2 in1” (mobile phone and PAD in one) devices have more abundant application scenarios.
At present, Chinese manufacturers have accumulated technology in folding screen mobile phones.
According to statistics from the Wisdom Buds global patent database, the number of patents accumulated by domestic mobile phone manufacturers in the field of folding screens has greatly increased in recent years.
Huawei, OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi have 703, 1,452, 839 and 444 patent applications in the field of folding screens respectively.
So, can folding screen mobile phones stimulate consumers' desire to switch phones?
Honor CEO Zhao Ming once said that the replacement cycle of smartphones has been extended to 25-30 months.
Zhong Xinlong said that the folding screen mobile phone has a good display experience and a new operating experience, and consumers are willing to pay an "experience premium" for the folding screen, but the price should not be too high.
With the continuous maturity of technology, the price of folding screen mobile phones continues to decline. For example, the price of vivo folding screen mobile phones is set at 8,999 yuan and 9,999 yuan (RMB, the same below).
Zhong Xinlong said that folding screen mobile phones are flagship devices in terms of processors and imaging systems, and the price is slightly higher than that of flagship phones, which is expected to be accepted by consumers who bought high-end mobile phones in the past.
Wang Bin also believes that the price of less than 10,000 yuan provides convenience for opening up the high-end market.
However, most folding screen mobile phones increase a lot of low-frequency usage requirements in exchange for a breakthrough in product form, which will have a negative impact on consumer experience to a certain extent due to thickness and weight.
It is difficult for the folding screen mobile phone to become the standard configuration of consumers for the time being, and it is still the world of the candy bar.
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