I'd levy the same critique at other foldable phones. I don't know a single person, personally, that owns one. Compared to the hundreds of people I know with an iPhone it's crazy to me that the market is supposedly big enough for Apple to put this much R&D into a device like this.
IMO, price is the problem. I can afford a folding phone, but I can't justify the cost for a tertiary computing device. Whenever possible I'd rather use a desktop, followed by a laptop. If I was more dependent on my phone it might be different.
> if anything Apple is catching up
That's been Apple MO for a long time. They may not be the first to market on a new tech, but when they do deliver, it's more advanced and higher quality than the competitors. It's a good strategy IMO.