There is no competitor to Apple in the premium smartphone segment globally.The iPhone continues to be the smartphone of choice among premium consumers. According to the latest data by Counterpoint Research, Apple had a 51 per cent market share in the high-end smartphone segment in 2018. Samsung was second with a market share of 22 per cent, followed by Huawei with a 10 per cent share. Surprisingly, Oppo (6 per cent) and OnePlus (2 per cent ) managed to occupy fourth and fifth positions in the premium smartphone segment.
While Apple remained the king in the high-end smartphone segment in 2018, its market share went down to 51 per cent from 58 per cent a year ago. Samsung too saw a decline in this segment, but it was less steep compared to Apple. Meanwhile, OEMs like Huawei, Oppo and OnePlus all saw healthy growth in the premium smartphone segment worldwide.
Huawei’s growth can be attributed to the success of the P20 and P20 Pro, which proved to be massive hits in China and Europe. Oppo also saw its market share jumped to 6 per cent in the premium segment, all because of its increased focus in Europe. Oppo continues to be the top smartphone player in China.
According to Counterpoint Research, OnePlus has broken into the top five for the first time. OnePlus 6T appears to be crazy popular in China, India and Western Europe. In fact, shipments in India during the fourth quarter of 2018 were the highest ever in a single quarter.
In India, Samsung OnePlus and Apple remained the top three players in the premium segment. Huawei and Vivo occupied the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. In China, Apple was the top OEM in the premium segment, followed by Huawei. In North America, Apple was on top followed by Samsung. But for the first time ever we have seen the entry of Google in the top five. It seems as if a lot of Americans purchased the Pixel 3 smartphones in 2018.
“The premium segment grew 14% YoY in terms of sell-in and 18% YoY in terms of sell-through. Growth was driven by new #iPhones and launches from Chinese OEMs like @HuaweiMobile, @OPPO & @oneplus” @tarunpathak
Read the full blog at: https://t.co/YlfVVBvWvp#smartphones #technews pic.twitter.com/jXLXxaqt3B
— Counterpoint (@CounterPointTR) April 16, 2019
As many as 40 OEMs now compete in the premium smartphone segment globally. Amongst 40 OEMs, the top players (Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, and OnePlus) now account for almost 90 per cent of shipments.
