On February 20th,according to industry statistics released by CINNO Research,the sales of foldable screen smartphones in the Chinese market reached 6.8 million units in 2023,a year-on-year increase of 140%;It is expected that by 2024,the sales of foldable screen smartphones in the Chinese market will reach 9.6 million units,a year-on-year increase of 41%.At the same time,the usage area of UTG(ultra-thin flexible glass)smartphones with foldable screens in China increased significantly by 250.7%year-on-year in 2023,and it is expected to continue to grow by over 70%year-on-year in 2024.

The reporter learned that there are two types of cover plates in the foldable screen smartphone market:CPI(transparent polyimide)and UTG,each with its own advantages and disadvantages.Among them,ultra-thin flexible glass UTG has good bending performance,high hardness,and slight creases.According to industry statistics from CINNO Research,since UTG entered mass production in 2022,the proportion of foldable screen smartphones equipped with UTG in China has increased to nearly 70%in 2023,a year-on-year increase of 24.5 percentage points.UTG has become the preferred cover plate for foldable screen smartphones in China;In terms of carrying area,the usage area of UTG in domestic foldable screen smartphones has reached 66000 square meters in 2023,a significant increase of 250.7%year-on-year.

From quarterly data,the usage area of UTG foldable screen smartphones in China is showing a rapid growth trend.In the second quarter of 2023,the usage area of UTG exceeded 10000 square meters for the first time,mainly because Huawei joined the UTG camp in the first quarter of 2023,further promoting the rapid growth of UTG usage area;In addition to the two fold screen smartphone,Huawei is also laying out three fold screen smartphone products that have very high requirements for flexible screens and stress control of various film layers.The specific launch time depends on the verification progress.Currently,its screens are provided by BOE.

From the situation of major domestic smartphone brands equipped with UTG,there are four brands of foldable screen smartphones equipped with UTG in 2023,among which OPPO has performed outstandingly.The sales of foldable screen smartphones equipped with UTG have exceeded one million units,a year-on-year increase of 4.7 times,ranking first;2023 is the beginning year for Huawei to install UTG,with impressive performance and a cumulative sales volume of about 900000 units,ranking second;Vivo and Xiaomi's sales of UTG foldable screen smartphones accounted for 15.0%and 7.4%respectively,ranking third and fourth.

From the perspective of popular models equipped with UTG,there are mainly four foldable screen smartphone models with a contribution rate of over 10%in 2023.Among them,Huawei has two models,namely the Mate X5 launched in the third quarter of 2023 and the Mate X3 launched in the first quarter of 2023,with a combined contribution rate of 26.9%;And OPPO's two best-selling smartphones:Find N3 Flip and Find N2 Flip,with a combined contribution rate of over 50%for these four best-selling models.

From the perspective of UTG's competitor's CPI installation situation,the sales of CPI foldable screen smartphones in China in 2023 were 2.033 million units,with a penetration rate decrease of 24.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year.This is mainly due to Huawei's significant reduction in the shipment volume target of CPI foldable screen smartphones in 2023,with the sales proportion of this model decreasing by 45.7 percentage points year-on-year.

Folding screen smartphones benefit from innovative forms,unique user experiences,and lower costs.Despite the overall sluggish demand in the smartphone market,they still maintain a growth trend against the trend.According to CINNO Research industry statistics,the sales of foldable screen smartphones in the Chinese market reached 6.8 million units in 2023,a year-on-year increase of 140%;It is expected that by 2024,the sales of foldable screen smartphones in the Chinese market will reach 9.6 million units,a year-on-year increase of 41%.

In addition,in the past two years,domestic and foreign cover plate factories have made certain progress in UTG crease optimization,reliability improvement,etc.,but there are still pain points in terms of cost,thickness,and weight.With the continuous improvement of technological research and development and the gradual deepening of supply chain layout,the market size of UTG cover plates will continue to increase.CINNO Research predicts that by 2024,the usage area of UTG foldable screen smartphones in China may increase to 115000 square meters,a year-on-year increase of over 70%.