Back in March, Xiaomi launched its first foldable mobile phone, Mi MIX Fold, and joined Samsung and Huawei, which already had foldable devices of different generations.
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According to reports, the foldable smartphone market is growing rapidly and will grow even further. In addition, the demand for polyimide film (CPI) will increase greatly. An insider’s report shows that Xiaomi aims to sell 500,000 Mi Mix folds in 2021.
Furthermore, according to Luotu Technology’s quarterly report the analysis of brand shipments in the global smartphone market, Xiaomi set a best record in a single season with shipments of 49 million units in the first quarter of 2021.
The company has the highest growth rate of over 60%, which makes Xiaomi is the fastest growing brand in the world. In China, the company also gained 16% market share with a growth rate of over 70%. Luotu Technology further claims that by 2021, global shipments of foldable smartphones will have doubled to 4.5 million units.
The CPI film on the Mi MIX fold is produced by Cologne. As per the Cologne Industrial Data, its CPI film currently holds 90% market share in China’s smartphones, notebook computers and other foldable display materials.
Considering China’s high share in the global market, Cologne aims to achieve an average annual growth rate of 60% in the global folding screen display market.
Currently, there are two main technologies for protecting foldable display surfaces. We have colorless and transparent polyimide film (CPI) and ultra-thin film tempered glass (UTG).
Cologne Industries mass produced the CPI film for the first time in 2019. At first, foldable mobile phones were the target of the application, but then Samsung Electronics changed direction and switched to UTG Glass.
As a result, Cologne had to shift its business to the medium and large product areas. These include laptop notebooks, rollable display, and even household appliances. Also, Cologne has provided the CPI film for the first foldable notebook computer released by personal computer manufacturer Lenovo, the model being 13.3 “ThinkPad X1 Fold”.
