It’s a strange contradiction. Everything in the smartphone world is always moving fast. There was less than three years between the first iPhone and the first Galaxy S. There was also about three years between the first big smartphone and the first big iPhone. Even the steps from 3G to 4G to 5G usually take about seven years.

But with foldable smartphones, things are easy. The first foldable smartphone, still in limited availability, in the form of the Royole FlexPai, dates back five years ago, and the first foldable phone dates back four years ago. We’ve now reached the point where many foldable smartphones from generation to generation are minor spec bumps and prices don’t come down hard, if at all.

Does this mean that the mechanical part of foldable smartphones is fully developed? Perhaps this is the case at the moment. In any case, foldable smartphones will not quickly take over the regular smartphone market. More and more brands and models are being added, but this does not mean that they will fill the shelves quickly.

Foldable smartphones certainly have a place in the market, but the share is and will remain small for the time being. Anyone who thinks foldable devices will revolutionize the smartphone market will be disappointed. It is a very gradual and slow development. This is something we are not used to in the smartphone market, but slow changes are changes too.