Huawei has tightened its grip on China’s foldable phone market, claiming a record 75% share in the first half of 2025, according to a new report from IDC. The overall foldable shipments in the country rose 12.6 percent year-on-year during the same period.
Since releasing its first foldable in 2019, Huawei has shipped more than 10 million foldables in total. It is the first Chinese brand to reach that milestone, which clearly shows its growth and user adoption.
Part of this success comes from Huawei’s willingness to experiment with new foldable categories. The Mate XT—the world’s first tri-fold, for instance—still has no competitors even after almost a year.
Huawei doesn’t fear experimenting
IDC says the tri-fold alone shipped close to half a million units within six months. In early 2025, Huawei added another category to its lineup with the Pura X, a so-called “wide-foldable.” The company followed it up with MateBook Fold Ultimate Design, it’s first foldable laptop with 18-inch display.
However, the report suggests hardware alone won’t keep manufacturers competitive for long. As most brands are offering similar specs, foldables are entering a “software-defined hardware” era. That means user experience will increasingly depend on tailored apps, cross-device integration, and AI-powered features rather than just form factor experiments.
Huawei’s rivals are far behind by comparison. Honor placed second with an 8.4 percent share, largely driven by its Magic V5. OPPO followed with 6.1 percent, while Xiaomi and Vivo trailed at 3.7 and 3.0 percent, respectively.
For now, Huawei’s dominance leaves little room for competitors. But as more brands explore tri-fold and wide-fold designs, and as software ecosystems take center stage, the fight for long-term leadership in foldables may look very different in the years ahead.
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