IDC predicts Apple’s first foldable iPhone will ship more than 10 million units in its first year at a price of $2,500, reviving a category that was heading for a double-digit decline. In the EU the device will have to carry an energy label grading its repairability and its survival of repeated drops.
Apple’s first foldable iPhone will ship more than 10 million units in its first year, according to IDC. The research firm expects the phone to rescue a category that was otherwise heading for a double-digit decline this year.
The device is expected in September. IDC senior research director Nabila Popal said she expects “the passport-style Apple foldable to be widely successful despite the high $2,500 price tag,” aimed at “a very elite set of consumers.”
The category forecast moves with it. IDC now sees foldables growing 12.6% this year and 18% next year, with Apple taking 40% of all foldable shipments by 2027.
The rest of the market is going the other way. IDC has revised its forecast for the whole smartphone market to a record 16.7% decline this year, driven by the memory shortage that is passing component costs onto shelf prices.
