Oppo and OnePlus will discontinue making flagship foldable phones, claims a new rumor. Although the report doesn’t name the smartphone manufacturer, the future of foldable smartphones has become uncertain after a big OEM exited the foldable market.
Oppo may discontinue making flagship foldable devices, claims a rumor
A new report from industry rumors blog Laifeng claims a reputed smartphone manufacturer is exiting from the flagship foldable space. The report doesn’t specify which manufacturer will stop making foldable smartphones. However, according to NotebookCheck, Oppo could be the company calling it quits in the niche segment.
The latest flagship foldable from Oppo, presumably to be branded as the Oppo Find N5 has been delayed on multiple occasions. However, rumors persistently claim Oppo will deliver the successor the Oppo Find N3. Hence, several industry insiders are still confident about Oppo’s presence in the foldable market.
Foldable market shrinking because Transsion quit?
Several leading smartphone manufacturers have released multiple iterations of foldable smartphones. In other words, the foldable device market is no longer nascent. It has matured enough to see the emergence of the trifold smartphone in the form of the Huawei Mate XT.
It is, however, important to note that foldable smartphones still command a hefty premium. Moreover, companies are still tinkering with designs to reduce the crease that’s visible on the inner display when it is unfolded. If that’s not challenging enough, foldable smartphones have multiple vulnerabilities that make them more fragile than phones with the candy-bar design.
Perhaps a combination of these factors may have forced Transsion to drop out of the foldable smartphone market. This leading electronics OEM is behind brands such as Tecno and Infinix. What this means is that there won’t be a successor to the Phantom V Fold2.
Moreover, the noticeable absence of the successor to the well-received OnePlus Open may have sparked rumors about OnePlus and Oppo exiting from the flagship foldables market. However, these reputed brands could likely be trying to avoid the ongoing slump due to faltering sales or confusing market metrics.
