New tech companies could struggle in the UK phone market

Of those asked, 63% said that the latest technology was most important to them, however when asked if they would buy from an unknown brand, only 34% said yes, showing that innovative new technology brands may struggle to break into a brand-loyal British market.  

Are flexible phones a game changer?
This data comes after the announcement of the world’s first foldable phone - the FlexPai by California-based company, Royole; beating big brands like LG and Samsung to the punch.

With a 7.8” display, the phone can be folded in half to enable separate screen functionality.

But despite being the only foldable model currently on the market, the brand Royole is relatively unknown, particularly in the UK.

 This, combined with its hefty £1,000 price tag, questions how UK consumers feel about purchasing an innovative, yet expensive product from an unknown brand. 

Entering a risky, brand-loyal market
Of those surveyed, only 50% admitted to being excited at the prospect of a flexible phone.

In fact 40% weren’t interested and 10% were unaware they existed, indicating some consumers are happy to wait for their favourite brand to catch up and will avoid newcomers on the market. With half of the responses either being negative or disinterested towards flexible phones and the majority of UK consumers sticking to brands they know, it looks like this initiative could be entering a rather hostile market, but it may be too early to say for sure.

Anthony Kun of Alternative Tech Reports said: “It is too early to say whether foldable screens will be a success, however once apps and websites start utilising the multiple screens, it will become a necessity. Just like a big screen phone.

“In 2011 many people thought a big screen phone was ridiculous, but fast forward to today and everybody is using them”.

Kun added: “The Flexpai has a long way to go before it competes with Samsung but it's not impossible. Many users have switched to Huawei and Oppo. These companies started off the same way as Royole.”