Analytical company Counterpoint Research published message regarding the premium smartphone market for last year. According to her, although global phone sales fell by 12% year-on-year, they rose by 1% in the premium segment. The share of expensive smartphones in the global market in terms of sales last year was an unprecedented 55%.
In other words, manufacturers are selling fewer budget and mid-range phones than ever before, and phones with a price tag of $600 and up are selling like hot dogs. The segment of premium phones with a price of $13 (about CZK 400) and above grew the fastest in 2022, by 1% year-on-year.
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According to Counterpoint, there are several reasons for this growth. Despite adverse market conditions last year, affluent consumers were more immune to macroeconomic headwinds than lower-end customers. As a result, sales in the premium market grew while sales in the lower and mid-range declined. As smartphones play an ever-increasing role in people's lives, consumers are prepared to spend more on their devices and keep them longer.
Another key growth factor was the "premiumization" trend across regions. Demand in the premium segment is driven by consumers upgrading their latest devices. Upgrades are evident not only in developed markets such as North America, but also in emerging economies, where consumers with their third or fourth device are beginning to penetrate the premium market.
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In terms of individual brands, the premium smartphone segment once again ruled the roost last year Apple, which recorded a year-on-year growth of 6% in it and whose share was 75%. Second in order was Samsung, which reported a year-on-year decrease of 5% and which held a share of 16%. In third place was Huawei with a share of 3% (down 44% year-on-year), Xiaomi in fourth place with a share of 1% (down 40% year-on-year) and the top five largest players in this field are rounded out by Honor, whose share was the same as that of Xiaomi , but which, unlike him, recorded year-on-year growth of 110%.
