Xiaomi followed Apple’s lead with tremendous premium segment growth in 2021. Apple’s iPhone 13 series was just released, but the phone manufacturer’s continued success in premium smartphone markets is primarily due to the legacy of its previous model line. New data shows that Apple has a larger share of the premium smartphone market than its Android competitors this year.
Counterpoint’s new report shows that Apple’s global premium market share increased from 48% to 57% between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021, thanks mainly to the success of the iPhone 12 series.
This accounted for 36% of premium smartphone sales in Q1 20201. That’s a 182% increase year-over-year. Apple was responsible for almost three-quarters of all sales in this price band in Q2 2021, compared to 54% the year before. This figure was boosted by the iPhone 12 Pro’s and iPhone 12 Pro Max Max’s sales performance, according to Counterpoint.
How did Apple’s Android rivals perform?
Android OEMs had a difficult time keeping up with Apple in the premium section.
Samsung held on to 22% in the premium market during Q2 2020. However, this share fell to 17% by Q2 2021. Counterpoint attributes this drop to supply constraints. Samsung saw a 13% increase in volume in premium categories over the same period.
Despite its ongoing troubles in Western markets, Huawei is still the third-largest global smartphone vendor in premium categories. It saw a sharp decline in share, dropping to 6% in the second quarter of 2021, from 17% in the second quarter of 2020. Its position in the premium segment is primarily due to its strength in China, where it remains the second-largest OEM.
Counterpoint
Oppo and Xiaomi were the only two Android OEMs to show notable market share gains during this period. Oppo’s premium stake grew from 4% to ^% between Q2 2020 & Q2 2021. This was in addition to its success across all pricing ranges in Q2 2021. Oppo saw a double-digit increase in premium segment share from 2% to 5.5% during the same period.
Other Android smartphone manufacturers are joining the ranks of the top four in the premium category. OnePlus was the third-largest OEM in this segment in North America, thanks to its OnePlus 9 series. Vivo is also ranked third in APAC behind Samsung and Apple. Motorola is the third-largest premium OEM of premium devices in Latin America, behind Samsung and Apple.
Counterpoint predicts that Samsung will regain some market share in H2 2021 with its cheaper Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Galaxy Z Flip 3 flagships. Xiaomi is now the largest smartphone manufacturer globally and continues to bring premium products to the market.
It’s unclear how the pandemic will impact consumers’ buying habits or whether they will keep their premium devices. The iPhone 13 series isn’t a significant upgrade to the iPhone 12 line. It remains to be seen if this will affect Apple’s dominance.
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