Apple extends lead over Samsung in the premium segment — and it’s all down to 5G

Source: Apoorva Bhardwaj / Android Central

Apple rounded off a resurgent 2021 via turning into the primary handset producer globally in This fall 2021. Although the total marketplace witnessed a marginal decline of three.2% from 2020 — accounting for 362.4 million shipments in general, in accordance to IDC — Apple led the means with 84.9 million shipments.

While the ones figures are not up to the 87.5 million devices it controlled right through the identical duration in 2020, there are a large number of positives. For something, a bulk of Apple’s gross sales in this segment have been in the iPhone 13 collection, with IDC noting a corresponding building up in the moderate promoting value of iPhones. The numbers endure that out: Apple simply posted an all-time quarterly income listing of $123.9 billion, an 11% year-on-year building up.

There are a large number of elements for this surge in enlargement. Apple most often has a tendency to do neatly in the vacation season as a result of its newest telephones are offered in the fall and move on sale in This fall, and the mainstream adoption of 5G acted as a catalyst. IDC’s Research Director for Worldwide Device Trackers Nabila Popal stated that Apple controlled to effectively place the iPhone 13 collection as the “subsequent wave” in the improve cycle, engaging customers of older iPhones to make the transfer to 5G.

Furthermore, Apple wasn’t as hamstrung via chip shortages as Samsung and Xiaomi. Popal famous that Apple’s focal point on 5G performed a key position right here; telephones with 5G modems were not as affected as their 4G opposite numbers, and with 5G gadgets accounting for 70% of Apple’s international gross sales quantity, it was once in a position to meet the call for. By distinction, over 60% of Samsung and Xiaomi gadgets bought in the identical duration have been 4G-only gadgets, and the Android producers have been hit badly via the proceeding shortages.

Enticing trade-in offers in the U.S. and competitive pricing in China boosted iPhone 13 gross sales.

Of route, beneficiant iPhone 13 carriers trade-in provides sweetened the deal, and the finish end result was once that the U.S. marketplace accounted for 31% of Apple’s total gross sales figures. Another essential issue was once China; Apple noticed heady positive aspects in China on the again of the iPhone 13 collection, recording its most powerful figures in over six years. It controlled to succeed in that via being extra competitive with the pricing of its newest flagship.

IDC’s knowledge presentations China accounting for 21% of Apple’s international gross sales quantity, a year-over-year building up of a staggering 40%. Popal famous that a large number of this enlargement had to do with the decline of Huawei over the ultimate two years; Huawei was once an enormous participant in China’s premium segment, and with the homegrown emblem’s efforts considerably curtailed via commerce bans, shoppers switched over to Apple.

In truth, Apple controlled to lengthen its lead in the premium segment (over $800) in maximum international markets. In 2020, Samsung used to have a 29% marketplace percentage in this class, however that determine now stands at 18% — and it does not take a genius to determine who captured that percentage. Apple went from 63% to 79% in the identical duration; the emblem totally dominates this class. It’s no marvel that it noticed a record-breaking quarter in This fall 2021.

Apple now accounts for 79% of the premium segment.

Apple additionally had its best possible 12 months in India, recording 2.3 million devices, an building up of 34% from 2020. As noted by Bloomberg, Apple netted $2.09 billion in income from the nation, outmatching second-place Samsung in this house in spite of the Korean emblem promoting over thrice as many telephones in the identical window.

While the nation is not a significant marketplace for Apple simply but, it holds a large number of possible, in particular in the mid-tier segment. Sales of older iPhone fashions proceed to be brisk right through seasonal e-commerce gross sales, and Apple closely discounted the iPhone 12 to incentivize consumers to select up the year-old flagship.

As a results of all those efforts, Apple recorded a fifteen.9% enlargement globally in 2021, with 235.7 million shipments. Apple goals to construct on that momentum in 2022 and is most probably to introduce a 5G-enabled iPhone SE in the coming quarter. Popal notes that the corporate might be in a position to dangle on to its place in the premium class in 2022 thank you to its “extraordinarily unswerving userbase.”

For its phase, Samsung has pivoted to foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 3 to spur gross sales in the high-end class, and the upcoming Galaxy S22 is about to problem for the identify of the best possible Android phone of the 12 months. Most of Samsung’s gross sales momentum over the ultimate two years has been on the again of the mid-range Galaxy A chain, and whilst it has observed some uptick for foldables — in particular in North America — it’s nonetheless a nascent class, and it’s not likely to shut the hole to Apple on the again of foldables.