Can you name the company that has a whopping 50% share of the U.S. foldable smartphone market?
No, Samsung is not the top-selling foldable phone brand in the U.S.
Which foldable manufacturer owns 50% of the U.S. market? | Image by PhoneArena
If you were asked to name the manufacturer that dominates the foldable smartphone market in the U.S., you probably would say Samsung. That's a plausible response because of the amount of marketing dollars that Sammy spends to promote its Galaxy Fold book-style and Galaxy Flip clamshell. But it is the wrong answer. In a new video, Francisco Jeronimo, Vice President of Devices at analytics firm IDC, and Nabila Popal, IDC's Senior Director, Devices, discussed Motorola's new Razr Fold.
How Motorola took it to Samsung in the clamshell foldable market
According to the video, based on IDC's analysis, Motorola is actually the most popular foldable phone manufacturer in the U.S. with an incredible 50% share of the niche market in the country. The clamshell Razr series has done remarkably well in the U.S. thanks to some changes first put in place in 2023 with the Razr+ (2023). Hitting Samsung where it screwed up the most with the Galaxy Z Flip 4, Motorola increased the size of its Quick View cover screen to 3.6 inches.
Samsung quickly followed moving from a useless 1.9-inch ticker on the Galaxy Z Flip 4 to a 3.4-inch cover screen on the Galaxy Z Flip 5. On last year's models, Motorola's 4-inch Quick View screen on the Razr Ultra (2025) was actually topped by the 4.1-inch cover display on the Flip 7. The Razr Ultra (2025) featured a 7-inch pOLED internal display with a refresh rate up to 165Hz. That compares to the 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X internal screen for the Galaxy Z Flip 7, which had a variable refresh rate of 1-120Hz.
What really got the Razr series going in the right direction was Motorola's decision to stop making the Razr appeal to fans of the original Razr feature phone. Instead, Motorola switched from a 7-series midrange Snapdragon application processor (AP) to the 8-series Snapdragon AP with the Razr+ (2023). Last year Motorola created the top-tier Razr Ultra (2025) to compete with Samsung. Obviously this paid off big time for Motorola.
Motorola will face a major issue later this year
Motorola's Razr is even hotter in Latin America where it has 55% of the foldable market. Globally, Motorola's 14% slice of the foldable market is much lower than in the U.S. and Latin America, but does not make it any less an achievement considering that the company isn't as well known as it is in the U.S.
Motorola might have a problem later this year if, as expected, Apple launches the iPhone Fold (or whatever the phone is ultimately named) later this year. Apple's long-awaited entry in the foldable market is expected to push global foldable sales 30% higher according to IDC. The latter sees Apple taking 22% of worldwide foldable market share this year (2026). Motorola's new book-style Razr Fold will compete directly with the iPhone Fold, the Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold.
Apple's long-awaited iPhone Fold could shake up the foldable market with its rumored no-crease display and high price
The Apple iPhone Fold could electrify the foldable smartphone market with its rumored 7.8-inch no-crease internal display. Of course, Apple being Apple has led discussions about pricing to end up at a figure that no consumer is excited to see. The speculation over pricing has been as high as $2,400. On the other hand, the Motorola Razr Fold is rumored to sport a 6,000 mAh battery compared to the 5,000 mAh cell rumored for the Apple iPhone Fold.
Either a 50% market share will be where the brand peaks in the U.S. foldable market, or Motorola beats back the toughest competition it has had to face in this market and takes the Razr to new highs in 2026 globally and in the U.S.
Overall, Motorola is doing fine in the U.S. as the third most popular smartphone vendor in the country. Apple is first, followed by Samsung and Motorola.
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