Google Pixel found enough of a foldable phone niche to maybe stay relevant following ‘iPhone Fold’

Ben Schoon | Mar 19 2026 - 8:40 am PT

Ahead of Apple’s debut in the foldable smartphone market, Google Pixel has carved out a spot of its own and, apparently, it won’t fully drop off the map once Apple changes the game.

Android has been doing the whole foldable phone thing for over six years now, but the segment is still a small – but growing – portion of the overall smartphone market. It’s the coming debut of Apple’s first foldable that might finally deliver a needed boost to the market which will inevitably see the market shift pretty dramatically.

Counterpoint Research believes that Apple will grab a 28% share of the foldable market out of the gate, immediately making it the second-largest foldable brand behind only Samsung. That’s going to have a pretty big impact on everyone else, too.

As it stands, the foldable market share breaks down as follows:

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2025 Global Foldable Market Share

Samsung – 40%
Huawei – 30%
Motorola – 12%
Honor – 7%
Google Pixel – 2%
Others – 6%

Google may be the smallest named player here, but it’s a bit impressive that Pixel Fold models managed to carve out enough of a niche to actually make it out of the “Others” status that Pixel is usually lumped into. That might have something to do with Pixel being one of the only book-style foldables available in the US, as well as some success in Europe.

While specific numbers were not shared by Counterpoint, what’s notable here is that Google has apparently managed to carve out enough of an audience that the research firm believes Pixel will still retain a foldable audience in 2026, enough to not be lumped into that “Others” segment.

In a forecast of 2026 foldable shipments, Counterpoint outlines the following hypothetical shares:

2026 Global Foldable Market Share (Forecast)

Samsung – 31%
Apple – 28%
Huawei – 23%
Motorola – 8%
Honor – 3%
Google Pixel – 1%
Others – 6%

The report further brings out that it expects “a thinner chassis” and other improvements in Google’s 2026 foldable:

Google is also expected to refresh its foldable lineup with the next-generation Pixel Fold in Q4 2026. The new model is expected to feature a thinner chassis and improved hinge design, positioning the device firmly in the ultra-premium tier.