For those who came in late, foldables are phones that bend like a book or a mirror, and they make up a tiny slice of the global market, even though they have been around for five years. They cost a fortune.

But Samsung is not giving up on them, and has splashed out on advertising this year. In July, the Korean giant launched its 5G Galaxy Z series. It reckons foldables will take over a third of the high-end market by 2027, according to Counterpoint Research.

Other phone makers like Motorola, Huawei and Honor are also hoping foldables will boost their business, after the worst year ever for the industry.

CCS Insight number cruncher Ben Wood said that this is the year people in the industry really dived in.

"Everybody now is betting on this, except Apple."

The iPhone-maker has ignored foldables, but it might change its mind and make a bendy iPad one day. All the other big players have followed Samsung's lead, including Google's Pixel Fold and Chinese rivals like Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi.