sandalwood

Abstract: The foldable smartphone market steadily expanded in 2025, with horizontal foldables maintaining dominance at over 70% market share, while vertical foldables remained stable. Horizontal foldables continue to solidify their premium positioning above 10,000 RMB, Vertical foldables present a two-tier distribution, combining ‘affordable mainstream adoption’ with ‘upper mid-range positioning‘. Meanwhile, the compact tablet market achieved niche growth amid the broader trend of larger screens, with particularly strong performance in the 3,000–6,000 RMB range. The 4,000–5,000 RMB segment emerged as a highlight, forming a "three-player landscape" led by Apple, education-focused tablet brands, and emerging entrants. Against the backdrop of increasingly blurred device size boundaries, the market for devices over 7 inches saw significant growth. Foldable smartphones and compact tablets have become key form factors bridging the gap between smartphones and tablets, unlocking new growth opportunities in the mobile device ecosystem.

The foldable market continues steady expansion:
Horizontal foldables remain dominant, while vertical foldables stay stable.

Foldable smartphones, an emerging category in recent years, are driving premium upgrades and innovation, with market potential expanding steadily.

According to Sandalwood’s China e-commerce market data, foldable sales rose continuously from early 2024, ramped up mid-year, and stabilized at 150,000–170,000 units per month in the second half, maintaining this level through mid-2025. Structurally, horizontal foldables remained stable at 90,000–120,000 units/month, capturing over 70% share and serving as the main growth driver, while vertical foldables held steady at 40,000–60,000 units/month.

From January to July 2025, cumulative online sales reached 1.081 million units, up 24% year-on-year. Horizontal foldables surged from 566,000 to 771,000 units—growth of over 30%—further cementing their leading role, while vertical foldables edged up slightly from 304,000 to 310,000 units, remaining stable.

Horizontal foldable: 10K CNY as key battleground
Vertical foldable: Dual drive from mass market & upper-mid tier

In July 2025, the ASP of horizontal foldables was around RMB 10,600, remaining stable within the RMB 10,000–13,000 range. The share of models priced above RMB 10,000 rose from 48% in 2024 to 55%, further solidifying the premium flagship–driven market structure.

Huawei dominates the >RMB 10,000 segment with its dual- and tri-fold models, while Samsung remains relatively stable. As a pioneer in foldables, Samsung has positioned its Galaxy Z series as a standalone flagship line since launch. Huawei, by contrast, has established a "technology leadership" position, leveraging cutting-edge innovation and a seamless user experience to capture the premium market, secure user mindshare, and achieve a virtuous cycle of high price and high value. The ASP of vertical foldables stood at ~RMB 6,500, remaining stable around RMB 6,000.

In terms of price distribution:

• Models under RMB 5,000 increased from 22% in 2024 to 29.8%, nearing 30%;

• The 5,000–8,000 range saw a slight decline;

• The 8,000–10,000 range grew from 12.3% to 15.6%, forming a "near-10K" upper-mid-tier anchor.

Overall, vertical foldables exhibit a polarized structure—mass adoption at lower prices and a growing foothold in the upper-mid-tier.

From a brand and product perspective:

• In the <4,000 RMB segment, Motorola has rapidly expanded into the low-price market with the RAZR 50 series;

• In the 5,000–7,000 RMB range, Xiaomi and Huawei are steadily gaining ground, led by the Xiaomi MIX Flip and Huawei Pocket 2 series;

• In the 7,000–10,000 RMB segment, Huawei continues to strengthen its position, with the Pura X becoming the mainstream upper-mid-tier model.

Smartphone-Tablet Convergence Zone:
Rise of Compact Tablets and Foldables Driving Growth

In the tablet market, while large-screen devices continue growing, the compact tablet segment is also expanding. From Jan–Jul 2025:

• >12.5-inch models rose to 16.5% share;

• 11.5–12.4-inch grew to 34.5%; together accounting for 51%;

• 10.5–11.4-inch increased to 39.4%; the three segments combined reached 90%;

• By contrast, <10.5-inch held only 9%.

By price segment:

• 3,000–6,000 RMB saw internal share rise from 40% to 56.7%, with steady growth in 3,000–4,000 RMB;

• 4,000–5,000 RMB surged from 5.3% to 19.6%, becoming the key growth driver;

• 5,000–6,000 RMB showed slight increase.

Based on July's latest data: Apple maintains a dominant position with the iPad mini; gaming tablets such as the Lenovo Y700 and Nubia RedMagic Pad 3 Pro, along with the Xiaomi K Pad, are scaling rapidly; while education-focused tablets like the Xiaoyuan S2 Pro and Zuoyebang S30 continue steady growth. This has led to an emerging tri-polar landscape: Apple at the forefront, education tablets holding steady, and new entrants gaining foothold—highlighting sustained demand for compact tablets in education, portability, and entertainment scenarios.

Meanwhile, smartphones over 7 inches are seeing clear growth. From Jan–Jul 2025, devices >7" accounted for 14% of Android and Hongmeng sales, up 38% YoY. Mainstream horizontal foldables range from 7.8 to 8.1 inches, with triple-fold models reaching 10 inches. Compact tablets and foldables are now the main growth drivers between smartphones and tablets, becoming the dominant form factors in this crossover space. Amid coexisting substitution, convergence, and complementarity, the mobile market is opening new growth paths.

Conclusion: The parallel rise of foldables and compact tablets reflects growing demand for premium experiences and multi-scenario portability. Horizontal foldables lead through flagship strength, vertical foldables expand across mass-market and upper-mid-tier segments, and compact tablets gain steady traction in education, entertainment, and mobility. As device forms evolve through integration and differentiation, the mobile market is set to transcend traditional phone-tablet divides, unlocking new growth curves.