The smartphone market has in recent time been shown to experience a decline due to saturation. That is again amplified in the latest report by Counterpoint research which shows that the market for premium smartphones experienced an 8% decline globally during the first quarter of 2019. Bear in mind that premium smartphones are classified based on their prices ranging from $400 upwards.
US tech giant Apple still ranks as the number one premium smartphone manufacturer despite seeing a 20% drop in its rating year on year. Counterpoint says that one reason for the decline is that iPhone buyers are holding on to their iPhones for longer with the average period for changing phones increasing from 2 years to 3 years. This factor could also be linked to the average price of iPhones hitting the roof. Another reason for iPhone sales decline is the drastic drop in shipments in China. Notwithstanding, Apple raked in a 47% share of the market in Q1 2019.
Samsung comes closely at the second spot with a 25% market share in the premium segment. Huawei is at the third spot with a 16% market share but could slip further down as a result of the US trade ban. OnePlus broke into the top 5 globally and in North America for the first time in Q1 2019.
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Another interesting take away from the report is that the North America market still remains the largest market for premium phones with a 30% market share. China comes close with a 26% share of the market. However, the Chinese market was sluggish in the first quarter, which was the other major factor in the global slowdown.
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