Global Smartphone Market Analysis for the Second Quarter Manufacturers Catch a Glimpse of the Secrets of Heaven

Global Smartphone Market Analysis for Q2 Manufacturers Gain Insight

【phoneauto】In recent years, the global smartphone market can be said to have undergone many changes, and even once appeared a polarized situation. However, up to now, there has always been a main theme – decline. According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, the global smartphone market has experienced eight consecutive quarters of decline. In the second quarter of 2023, global smartphone sales fell by 8% year-on-year and 5% month-on-month. The expected market recovery did not occur.

From the report, the top five global manufacturers in the second quarter of 2023 were Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo, with market shares of 22%, 17%, 12%, 10%, and 8% respectively. The ranking of manufacturers did not change compared to the previous quarter. Among them, Samsung’s high market share is attributed to the outstanding performance of the A series in the global market, while Apple has achieved its highest market share in the second quarter ever. On the domestic manufacturer side, Xiaomi reached its peak with 15% market share in the second quarter of 2021, but then declined. Counterpoint Research attributed this to Xiaomi’s difficulties in its largest markets, China and India, and it is seeking to reverse the decline by expanding and updating its product portfolio in other markets.

OPPO is able to maintain a stable 10% market share, thanks to the performance of OnePlus, and OPPO has relatively good performance in the Chinese and Indian markets. Despite losses in the Western European market, it still maintains its global market share. vivo (including iQOO) faces a harsher market environment, facing fierce competition from Samsung and OPPO in the Indian and Southeast Asian offline markets, which has also caused its market share to drop to 8%. The third quarter will be a critical time point.

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In addition to changes in market share among manufacturers, this report also provides a very important conclusion – the high-end market is growing against the trend, with sales of high-end smartphones accounting for over one-fifth in the second quarter. Yes, even with the lengthening of the consumer replacement cycle, the high-end market is still growing, which also reflects the current market trend. From these data and conclusions, we can better understand why Honor CEO Zhao Ming recently called for a competitive market, breaking the dominance of Apple. High-end products can indeed save manufacturers in a difficult situation, although the process of building high-end products is extremely challenging, the rewards after success are also immeasurable. This is also the “secret” that manufacturers have discovered.

The report points out that Apple is leveraging the wave of high-end products to achieve record market share in new markets that are not traditionally considered its core markets. Taking India as an example, in the second quarter of 2023, Apple’s market share in India increased by 50% compared to the same period last year. In the past few years, domestic manufacturers have repeatedly failed in the Indian market, facing such a large market, they can only “keep their distance”. Apple sees an opportunity to shape the high-end market, and with the extension of its product line, the price range it covers is also wider, giving the brand a great advantage.

Although it has been nearly a year since the release of the iPhone 14 series in the second quarter of this year, it still has a high level of popularity in the global market. Other manufacturers have already launched several products. When asked how Apple responds, the answer is actually only the iPhone 14 series. If we add a few more, it would be the earlier released iPhone 13 series, iPhone 12 series… And to this day, many consumers have developed a habit of buying the older models when new ones are released. For example, after the release of the iPhone 15 series, there will be a group of people choosing the iPhone 14 series. Apple’s product power is envied by many Android manufacturers and has been catching up with it in recent years.

Speaking of the upcoming iPhone 15 series, there have been many leaks so far. The appearance will remain largely unchanged, with the standard version also being released. In addition, the Lightning interface will be replaced with a USB-C interface, which can be considered a revolutionary change. Apart from that, we can expect a 48-megapixel camera, an A17 processor, and so on, which can be predicted for the most part. Although it seems that the updates are not significant, this stable approach has not had a major impact on Apple’s sales so far. On the contrary, there is a trend of increasing market recognition.

As you can see from the chart, there is an interesting phenomenon. In 2019 and 2020, the proportion of “others” was surprisingly high, reaching 44% at one point. Why? The main reason is Huawei. In 2019, Huawei’s market share reached 15.8% globally, making it the second largest brand after Samsung. Nowadays, with the decline in Huawei’s market share, other domestic manufacturers have entered the top five, and “others” have become the place where Huawei stands now.

Another interesting phenomenon is that since the second quarter of 2021, the market share of “others” has shown a slight increase, albeit only 1%. This is the result of the joint efforts of Huawei and Honor. Since the release of the Huawei Mate 50 series last year, Huawei has been in a state of rapid market recovery. From the launch of popular products such as the P60 series, Mate X3, and nova11 series at the beginning of this year, Huawei’s market share has been continuously recovering. Moreover, in terms of price, most of the products sold by Huawei are in the high-end range. Even with a few thousand yuan increase, the Mate X3 is still highly sought after in the market, which is enough to demonstrate the brand’s influence. With the release of the Mate60 series in the second half of the year, Huawei’s market share will further increase. Perhaps at that time, we will see Huawei return to the top five again.

For Honor, since its separation from Huawei, its market share has plummeted to rock bottom. However, with the launch of a series of products such as the Honor 50 series, Honor 60 series, and Magic3 series, Honor has created its own smile curve and has started to show promising market performance. This year, Honor has also experienced a technological breakthrough, from the Magic5 series at the beginning of the year to the recently released Magic V2 foldable screen phone. Technologies such as the Qinghai Lake battery, the Falcon Eye camera, and the Luban hinge have left a good impression on consumers and have withstood the test of the market. Moreover, Honor has defined 2023 as the year of the European market. With its continuous expansion in overseas markets, it is believed that Honor will have a good performance in the global market this year.

Looking at the global smartphone market in the second quarter of 2023, the overall situation is not optimistic. However, the high-end market has become a battleground for manufacturers. Compared to others, Apple and Samsung have a natural advantage in the high-end market and their positions are difficult to shake. Although Huawei has achieved some success in the high-end market, it is currently constrained and unable to fully exert its strength. There is still hope for further exploration in the high-end market. Other domestic manufacturers have also realized that the high-end market is a must-win area. They are making efforts in the field of foldable screens and continuously breaking through in the high-end flat-screen market, aiming to have more say in the high-end market and gain recognition from global consumers. In the upcoming third quarter, the global smartphone market will welcome a large number of new products, and the competition will only become more intense. Let us wait and see who will ultimately emerge victorious.

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