In 2021, the global premium smartphone market sales grew 24% YoY to reach its highest level ever. Premium smartphones contributed 27% out of the total global smartphone sales. Amongst all the brands, Apple had the biggest market share in global premium smartphone sales. According to Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse Service, Apple reached a 60% sales share mark in the global premium smartphone sales segment for the first time since 2017. This was driven by the 5G capabilities of the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 12 series.
Apple Beat Samsung in all Major Regions
Be it North America, Latin America, India, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, or the Middle East and Africa, Apple was ahead of Samsung in each region. In India, interestingly, OnePlus was ahead of Samsung when it came to premium smartphone sales in 2021. Compared to 2020, Samsung’s market share in total premium smartphone sales globally fell from 20% to 17% while Apple’s share grew from 55% to 60%. Tarun Pathak, Research Director, said OEMs such as Apple, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo were aggressive in capitalising on the premium market gap left by Huawei, especially in Western Europe and China. Apple had a solid Q4 2021 in China where the Cupertino tech giant reached its highest ever market share. Samsung’s market share in the premium smartphone sales globally fell in 2021 because the company didn’t launch any new FE device or a Note device. In 2022, with the S22 Ultra donning the S Pen stylus, the figure might change a little. However, the demand for the iPhone 12 series is still strong because of the minor differences from the iPhone 13 series. In addition to that, the iPhone 12 series has become very affordable compared to its launch price. According to the data shared by Counterpoint Research, Asus and Oppo have more than doubled their sales in the premium segment in 2021.
