Europe’s Foldable Phone Market Heats Up: Samsung's Lead Shrinks, Motorola And Google Gain Ground

In a still small and growing European foldable smartphone market, Samsung is ahead, but its rivals are catching up quickly. While the South Korean smartphone maker remains a market leader, its share has shrunk compared to the previous year.

A report by Counterpoint Research highlighted that Samsung competitors Motorola and Google have also managed to create a fan base in the foldable smartphone segment in the continent. Motorola is gaining momentum, which was highlighted through the success of its Razr (2024) series, achieving 58% sales growth year-on-year in Europe. 

The report also added that Google made a big leap in this space, jumping from 2% to 8% market share in a year. Despite its high price, Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold has been a hit among users.

These developments have created uncertainty about Samsung’s long-term dominance, as the foldable smartphone landscape continues to shift. With new releases nearly every month, it remains to be seen if Samsung will be able to maintain its position as the market leader.

Compared to Motorola, Samsung was ahead by a comfortable 26 percentage point lead as of Q1 2025 sales, according to a Phone Arena report. This indicates that there is still time for Samsung to reinforce its position. 

To respond strategically to the growing competition in the foldable smartphone space, Samsung is expected to launch between two and five Z Fold and Z Flip devices sometime in July. This comes months after Motorola unveiled the Razr 60, aka Razr (2025) family, in April. For FY26, Motorola will attempt to replicate the success of the Razr 50 series with its new launch.

On the other hand, Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is also expected to intensify competition in the premium foldable segment. Its sharp increase in sales over a 12-month period suggests that momentum is building for Google’s premium offerings. To be clear, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold starts at a whopping $1,799 in the US and €1,899 in European markets like France or Germany.

Overall, Europe’s foldable smartphone sales grew 4% YoY in Q1 2025. However, the segment still makes up only 1.5% of the total smartphone sales in the region.