Samsung is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer in 2021 followed by Apple and Xiaomi. They sell hundreds of millions of devices but the majority are devices from the mid-range Galaxy A series. According to the latest Counterpoint Research report, in the flagship device class the opposite is happening with Apple far ahead.
In Q2 2022, Apple holds 57% of the premium flagship device market followed by Samsung (19%), Vivo (4%), Oppo (4%), Xiaomi (4%) and Huawei (3%). An interesting achievement for Vivo that managed to overtake Oppo even though it is a younger company.
Premium flagship devices are those that sell for over $400 according to Counterpoint. Last quarter, the average selling price of a premium flagship device was $780 (~RM3500) a – an 8% increase compared to the same quarter in 2021. More interesting is that in the category of devices sold at a price above $1000 Apple holds 78% of the market.
Although device sales were down this quarter, the impact was only around 8% compared to 12% for other device categories. It seems that the more affluent are not so affected by the increase in the cost of living and the less uncertain economy.