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Production of smartphones by Asia’s contract manufacturers, including iPhone and Android phones, almost stopped until the end of February, when the coronavirus devastated China. Production is returning, but customers are missing important markets.
– As expected, the global smartphone market has had its worst quarter. Demand for smartphones stopped when fear of Covit-19 led to the closure of large markets and customers put new purchases on hold, says Linda Sui, director of Strategy Analytics.
– Worse in the second quarter
55 million fewer smartphones were sold in the first quarter compared to last year, a decrease of 17 percent.
“If it’s not about replacing a broken phone, this is what consumers will expect,” Counterpoint Research analyst Tarun Pathak said in a comment.
Samsung sits firmly on the throne as the world’s largest smartphone maker with sales of 59 million units in the first three months of the year. Market share fell one percentage point to 20 percent. Huawei, which planned to become the world’s largest smartphone maker last year, ranks second with a 17 percent market share.
“The ongoing pandemic means that the smartphone market is likely to worsen in the second quarter,” says Pathak.
China is the exception. There the situation is about to normalize in cities with open shopping centers and factories have started again. Local companies like Huawei, Xiaomo, Oppo and Vivo dominate the Chinese market. Apple is the largest foreign smartphone maker in China.
– Huawei is in a better position than Samsung, where all major markets are closed, Pathak notes.
Growth for Apple
Apple is the “winner” in the global market by taking two percentage points in market shares. 40 million iPhones were sold in the quarter, just two million fewer than in the same quarter last year, according to Counterpoint Research.
For the past two years, Apple has been selling iPhones with launch prices of nearly $ 10,000. With mass unemployment and the world entering a deep recession, there are far fewer who are able or willing to spend such amounts.
In April, Apple released a cheaper iPhone model for less than $ 6,000.
“Apple’s new Iphone SE model, with a lower price and a greater presence in emerging markets like India, will generate higher volume sales for Apple in the coming months,” says Woody Oh, director of Strategy Analytics.
– Biggest update in many years.
Apple will launch new top models this fall with 5G support for the new mobile networks that are under development.
“Iphone 12 could be the biggest update in many years,” writes tech website Tom’s Guide in an update with leaks and rumors of what to expect from upcoming iPhone models.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the September release may be delayed by a few weeks. Apple is gearing up for cheaper flagship models. The company is trying to adapt to changing consumer patterns due to the crown pandemic.
According to Apple analyst Jon Prosser, the cheapest of the next four iPhone 12 models, with a 5.4-inch oled screen, two front cameras, and 5G mobile network support, will cost around $ 650. Other leaks are below $ 700 (NOK 7500).
The top model, with a 6.7-inch screen and LiDAR sensors, will cost around $ 1,100. Used for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), LiDAR technology may indicate that Apple is preparing to launch other products, including glasses.
“Apple is better positioned than most to grow after the pandemic. We believe that demand is delayed, but is not canceled, “writes analyst Amit Daryanani of investment bank Evercore in a new analysis.
Samsung’s biggest competitor models, which also have 5G support, launched this winter. The S20 series has sold significantly poorer than the previous two S models, according to a report by M Science.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We want you to share our cases using a link, which links directly to our pages. Copying or any other use of all or part of the content may only be made with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms see here.
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