Apple Still Holds Half Of The World’s Premium Smartphone Segment Despite Decline In Sales

Apple is losing its market shares to other smartphone makers, but it still is the biggest player in the premium segment. As stated in a new report from Counterpoint, while the high-end market saw an 8% drop of sales across the globe in the first three months of 2019, half of that segment still belongs to Apple.

While Apple is losing its shares, Samsung sees an increase in this respect. The Korean smartphone maker now has one-fourth of the premium segment across the globe, the highest figure in the past year. This was the first time for Samsung to release three devices to cover more price points instead of the usual two.

Apple’s decrease in smartphone shipment coupled with the stall of the Chinese market are the two critical reasons for the fall of the premium segment. Counterpoint estimated that the Chinese market accounted for half of the fall in Q1 2019.

With 5G might be rolled out in the near future, we have reasons to expect that the high-end market will regain its previous growth rate. Between the year 2019 and 2020, 5G devices are expected to be introduced in the high-end segment.

According to Counterpoint, premium smartphones are which cost over $400. Apple’s sales have seen a decline of 20% per year; it still has 47% of the market, the two following makers are Samsung and Huawei, holding 25% and 16% of the market respectively.

When it comes to high-end smartphones, the US is still the largest market, following by China with 30% and 26% respectively. In the last quarter, the biggest sales for premium smartphones belong to the Galaxy lineup. With the release of the Galaxy S10, Samsung held tight to its largest share of the premium segment last year.

Google and OnePlus each own 2%. However, since the launch of OnePlus 6T, the latter has become the best-selling brands in India.