The year 2021 is now over, and looking back at the year in retrospect, 2021 saw the continued rise of mobile technology as more workers were given the option to work from home, and educational institutions were offering students the choice to study from home to complete their studies. Despite the ongoing chip shortages and supply chain disruptions by imposed lockdowns, 2021 was a growth year for many industries in tech such as the laptop market, the tablet market and most importantly the smartphone market.
Counterpoint Research has just released its annual report of the total global smartphone revenue across the year and the great news is that the smartphone market is still going strong on its ever-increasing market cap value and in 2021, the global smartphone market revenue reaches an all-time high of $448 billion USD. Compared to 2020’s $382 billion USD, global smartphone market revenue has grown over 7% YoY. in 2021, and smartphone makers are now generating more revenue than ever.
The report also mentions more than 85% of the smartphone market revenue generated were by the Top 5 most well-known smartphone brands, which are respectively: Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO(includes OnePlus) and vivo. The breakdown of each of the Big 5 performance’s in 2021 are as follows.
Apple
Apple led the global smartphone market revenues in 2021 with annual revenue of $196 billion, a 35% YoY growth compared to 2020. It captured 44% of total global smartphone revenue in 2021. As for the average selling price(ASP) of iPhones, Apple sold its iPhones at an ASP of $825 USD in 2021. This may be caused by the high demand for the 5G-enabled iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series with fancier design and more potent camera systems, which helps to maintain its original userbase as well as attract newer users in key emerging markets such as India, Thailand, Vietnam and Brazil.
Samsung
In 2nd comes South Korean tech giant, Samsung. Samsung’s smartphone revenue increased 11% YoY to reach $72 billion in 2021, compared to $64 billion in 2020. The average selling price for a Samsung smartphone grew 5% to $263 USD in 2021. Samsung managed to increase its global market share in the mid-range and premium segments with the launch of the Galaxy S flagship series and increase in the share of 5G phones, with the cheapest of the bunch being the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G.
2021 also witnessed the launch of two foldable smartphones — Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G and Z Flip3, which also nudged the overall revenue higher. The lineup of foldables generated much buzz for the company for its industry breaking innovations and attract customers with its more extraordinary design. For those who wanted more than rectangular non-folding slabs of aluminium and glass, Samsung finally offered an alternative. Samsung shipped three times more foldable devices in 2021 than in 2020.
Xiaomi
Coming in 3rd is the value-to-performance king – Xiaomi. Xiaomi’s revenue increased 49% YoY to reach $36 billion in 2021, compared to $24 billion in 2020. This is mainly due to the increase in shipments and market share for its mid-range and premium segment flagship killers such as the Mi 11X series, Poco F3 series, Redmi Note 10 series globally. In India, the brand’s biggest market, the smartphones priced at $250 USD and above grew 39% YoY to account for more than 14% of Xiaomi’s India market, compared to 8% in 2020.
OPPO
Down to 4th place, is OPPO which saw the merger with its sister company OnePlus into one shared entity. The Counterpoint Research report also categorises OnePlus and OPPO as OPPO for the sake of data analysis.
OPPO saw a revenue increase of 47% YoY to $37 billion in 2021. The ASP of its smartphones grew 15% YoY to reach $259 USD in 2021. The brand saw an increase in shipments in the $400-$599 and $600-$799 price bands, mainly owing to strong demand for the Reno 6 series, Find X3 and OnePlus 9 series. 5G-enabled smartphones contributed more than 50% of the brand’s yearly shipments in 2021 against 28% in 2020. OPPO also managed to expand its presence in mature markets such as China, Japan and parts of Europe (including Nordic countries), which drove the higher revenue and ASP. OnePlus revenue grew 33% YoY in 2021 driven by the OnePlus Nord series and the OnePlus 9 lineup.
vivo
Squeezing into the last spot within the Top 5 is the Chinese phone brand, vivo. vivo’s revenue increased 43% YoY to $34 billion USD in 2021. The average selling price (ASP) of vivo smartphones grew 19% YoY to reach $259 USD in 2021. The brand ranked as the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in 2021 both in terms of revenue and shipments.
vivo’s revenue performance was driven by the well-received flagship vivo X60 and S series, exceptional performance in China and a wide product portfolio spread across all price bands. In 2021, the vendor also collaborated with Zeiss for its flagship vivo X60 and X70 series for its outstanding low-light camera performance in the industry.
And that was a quick recap of the report of the Top 5 Smartphone Brands in 2021. Compared to 2019, it looks to seem that Xiaomi has quickly filled up the void that Huawei left once the US sanctions hit the company and with fiercer competition from Realme, Lenovo and Asus in the smartphone market 2022, it remains to be seen if the Top 5 smartphone brands of 2021 will remain the Top 5 smartphone brands of 2022.
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