In 2022, Apple has once again captured the lion’s share of the premium smartphone market. At the same time, many Android manufacturers are in decline, with the exception of two brands showing outrageous growth.
The high-end weathers the storm
Between 2021 and 2022, smartphone sales fell by 12%. A not very encouraging figure, partly explained by macroeconomic difficulties, including a tendentially lengthening mobile phone renewal cycle. In this slump, some products are doing better than others: high-end phones. According to Counterpoint, all smartphones over $600 fall into this category.
The high-end wireless market is weathering the storm hitting the sector well, growing 1% (yoy) in 2022. The ‘premium’ mobile phone segment now represents 55% of the market’s total annual sales. Counterpoint analysts explain this trend by saying that the wealthiest consumers are less affected by economic hardship than mid-range and entry-level mobile phone users.
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The importance of smartphones in our lives also makes them an essential purchase that people are willing to spend more on, even if it means keeping them longer. A strong trend that has made the $1,000+ smartphone segment the fastest-growing segment in 2022, with a 38% year-over-year increase.
Dominates Apple, Honor and Google in great shape
Unsurprisingly, Apple is once again taking the lead in the high-end smartphone segment. The Californian brand even manages to increase its market share from 71% in 2021 to 75% in 2022 within a year. Tech-wise, the iPhone SE 2022 is the only smartphone sold by Apple under the $600 mark. Apple thus dominates three quarters of the only market in which it is in direct competition with other manufacturers: the top class. An impressive achievement.
Development of the market shares of brands in the high-end smartphone segment between 2021 and 2022 – © Counterpoint
Development of the market shares of brands in the high-end smartphone segment between 2021 and 2022 – © CounterpointSamsung, which remains the global leader in smartphone sales, mostly at entry-level and mid-range, ranks second in high-end handsets with a 16% market share, down 1% in 12 months. In third place we find Huawei with 3% market share compared to 5% last year. It’s a 44% free fall on smartphones for the Chinese giant, which is still in great shape. Xiaomi is also suffering from a 40% drop that puts it under 2% market share in this price segment.
Two brands are now outperforming the others. The first is none other than Honor, formerly owned by Huawei, which registers a 110% increase, thanks in particular to its Magic Vs and its Magic 4 Pro, which will soon be replaced by the very ambitious Magic 5 Pro.
Google is the other big winner of 2022 with a 118% growth thanks to its excellent Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. Both Honor and Google remain small players in the premium mobile segment, but the momentum is clearly in their favor. As you can see from the counterpoint chart, “other” brands only have a 3% market share and are down -19% year-on-year.