Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL; DR
- According to a new report, Apple experienced huge growth in the smartphone segment of more than $ 400 between 2Q 2020 and 2Q 2021.
- According to reports, the firm claimed nearly 75% of sales in the $ 800 + price tag.
- Its biggest Android rivals, Samsung and Huawei, struggled to keep pace. Xiaomi and Oppo, however, saw notable gains.
Apple has just launched the iPhone 13 series, but the company has its line of outgoing models to thank for its booming success in the premium smartphone market. According to new data, the firm has claimed an even bigger stake in the premium smartphone segment this year at the expense of its Android rivals.
According to a new Counterpoint report, Apple’s global premium market share grew from 48% in Q2 2020 to 57% in Q2 2021, largely behind the success of the iPhone 12 series. defines the premium segment of the market as devices that sell for over $ 400, including most Apple devices. That said, its performance in the ultra premium segment ($ 800 or higher) is also particularly notable.
Across the premium smartphone market, this specific price range accounted for 36% of premium smartphone sales during the first quarter of 2021, up 182% year-on-year. Apple accounted for nearly three-quarters of this band’s sales in the second quarter of 2021, 54% more than the previous year. Again, this figure was bolstered by the sales performance of the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, by counterpoint.
How did Apple’s Android rivals perform?
Android OEMs struggled to keep up with Apple in the premium segment.
Samsung retained 22% of the premium market during the second quarter of 2020, but that share fell to 17% in the second quarter of 2021. The counterpoint blames this decline on supply constraints. However, in terms of volume, Samsung still experienced a 13% increase in sales in the premium category during this period.
Despite continuing problems in Western markets, Huawei remains the world’s third-largest provider of smartphones in the premium category. However, it experienced a sharp fall in the share, which fell to 6% in Q2 2021, from 17% in Q2 2020. In particular, its position is mainly due to its residual strength in the Chinese market, where it remains the second largest OEM in the premium segment.
Only two Android OEMs showed notable market share gains during the period, namely Oppo and Xiaomi. The latter increased its premium share from 4% to 6% between 2Q 2020 and 2Q 2021, which added to its success in all price bands in 2Q 2021. Meanwhile, Oppo experienced a share growth. of double digits in the premium segment, from 2% to 5% during the same period.
More reading: Now that Xiaomi is number one, can it stay ahead of Samsung?
Other Android smartphone makers are slowly joining the big four in the premium segment. OnePlus was ranked as the third largest OEM manufacturer in this sector in North America, thanks in large part to the OnePlus 9 series. Vivo also occupies this place in the APAC region, behind Apple and Samsung. Motorola remains strong in the Latin American market as the third largest premium device manufacturer behind Apple and Samsung in this region.
Looking ahead to the H2 2021, Counterpoint suggests that Samsung will regain market share with the cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 badges. Xiaomi, now ranked as the world’s largest smartphone maker in June 2021 , also continues to push more premium products to market.
As the pandemic slowly subsides, it’s unclear how this will affect consumers ’buying habits or whether they’ll be stuck on the premium devices they currently have. That said, the iPhone 13 doesn’t look like such a big upgrade over the iPhone 12 line. It remains to be seen if this affects Apple’s dominance.