What you need to know

• DSCC's quarterly foldable display shipment and technology report has revealed that Samsung single-handedly dominated the foldable smartphone market last quarter.
• Per the report, Samsung's market share stood at 96% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
• Samsung held an 87% share of the foldable smartphone market for all of 2021.

Foldable smartphone shipments rose 520% YoY to reach 4.25 million units in the fourth quarter of 2021, according to DSCC's latest quarterly foldable display shipment and technology report. The report also reveals that Samsung led the foldable market with a whopping 96% share. The company shipped 4.1 million foldable phones during the October to December period.

For the whole year, Samsung held an 87% share of the 8-million-unit foldable market. In 2020, Samsung had an 86% share of the 2.3-million-unit market. Huawei was the second-largest foldable smartphone vendor in 2021, with a market share of 9%.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 3 was the most popular foldable in Q4 2021, with a 59% share. It also held an impressive 51% share for all of 2021. The second most popular foldable device of 2021 was the Galaxy Z Fold 3, with a 26% share.

Foldable smartphone revenues registered a 342% YoY increase in Q4 2021 to reach a record high of $5.8 billion. Samsung's revenue share during the quarter was also impressive at 92%.

While only four companies shipped foldable phones in the fourth quarter of 2021, DSCC expects the number to increase to six by the end of Q1 2022 and eleven by the end the year. Google, TCL, and Vivo are some of the brands that are expected to roll out new devices to challenge Samsung's best foldable phones later this year.

As more companies enter the market, Samsung is likely to lose some ground. However, DSCC believes the South Korean tech giant will still be able to continue dominating the market due to its "significant influence over the foldable display supply chain."