The latest report on the global smartphone market released by Strategy Analytics include some interesting statistics. An overall growth of around 33% was reported for smartphone shipments globally during the first quarter (Q1) of 2014. The most notable feature of this report is the fact that global smartphone giants Apple and Samsung losing its share to Chinese smartphone makers, Huawei and Lenovo. Even though this report must be viewed with a bit of caution since the number of shipments don't really equal sales to the end users.
According to the report, Samsung reported its first decline in sales since the late 2009. The lower end of the market is where the competition is really intense, and Chinese handset makers have gained traction there. Apple has lost a slice of its market share too, since it continues to be weak in developing markets because of the lack of low-priced offerings to its clientele.
However Apple seems to not like the idea of competing at the low-margin, low-end of market. Apple and Samsung have done around 47% of the total global smartphone market share in Q1 of 2014. This is a slight decrease from a market share 50% just a year ago. Even though it hardly shows a collapse, it is a good indication that Huawei and Lenovo will continue to make good gains in the future.
Samsung retained the first place with a market share of 31.2% in Q1 of 2014. It has a share of 32.4% during the same period of 2013. Apple came second with a share of 15.3% whereas it has a share of 17.5% in 2013. Huawei was placed third with a market share of 4.7%, a slight increase when compared to the same period of 2013. Lenovo was fifth with a share of 4.6% in Q1 of 2014, whereas it only had a share of 3.9% in Q1 of 2013.
So what does the future hold for mobile phones in China? More than likely, branded products will continue to lose market share, as the Chinese models improve, and continue to pick up momentum. It is likely that the branded names will hit back at some point by lowering prices, but they can only really do that on the older models.
When these big companies launch a new model then they need to recoup the research and development costs. So as things stand at the moment, the future looks very bright for the Chinese mobile phone market, and this is good news for the consumer.
According to the report, Samsung reported its first decline in sales since the late 2009. The lower end of the market is where the competition is really intense, and Chinese handset makers have gained traction there. Apple has lost a slice of its market share too, since it continues to be weak in developing markets because of the lack of low-priced offerings to its clientele.
However Apple seems to not like the idea of competing at the low-margin, low-end of market. Apple and Samsung have done around 47% of the total global smartphone market share in Q1 of 2014. This is a slight decrease from a market share 50% just a year ago. Even though it hardly shows a collapse, it is a good indication that Huawei and Lenovo will continue to make good gains in the future.
Samsung retained the first place with a market share of 31.2% in Q1 of 2014. It has a share of 32.4% during the same period of 2013. Apple came second with a share of 15.3% whereas it has a share of 17.5% in 2013. Huawei was placed third with a market share of 4.7%, a slight increase when compared to the same period of 2013. Lenovo was fifth with a share of 4.6% in Q1 of 2014, whereas it only had a share of 3.9% in Q1 of 2013.
So what does the future hold for mobile phones in China? More than likely, branded products will continue to lose market share, as the Chinese models improve, and continue to pick up momentum. It is likely that the branded names will hit back at some point by lowering prices, but they can only really do that on the older models.
When these big companies launch a new model then they need to recoup the research and development costs. So as things stand at the moment, the future looks very bright for the Chinese mobile phone market, and this is good news for the consumer.
About the Author:
YouTube.com - Social SEO Pro is a news review site that reveals the truths & myths by providing a Video Jeet Review.