Strategy Analytics released the latest report on the global smartphone market recently. There were some interesting features in this report. The total market share grew by at least 33% with a total unit sale of 281 million units during the first quarter (Q1) of 2014. The same period saw an increase of 9.4% in the total mobile phone market which include smartphones and all other feature phones. A total of 408 million units of mobile phones were shipped worldwide during the first quarter of 2014.
The top manufacturers of smartphones in the world were Samsung and Apple in 2013. In 2014 also they led the list by sharing the first and second positions respectively, but the notable feature is the decrease in their respective market shares. Samsung was first with an overall market share of 31.2% which saw a slight drop of 1.2% compared to the market share of Q1 of 2013. Apple came second with a market share of 15.5% in Q1 2014. But Apple also lost 2.2% of their market share of the first quarter in 2013. The clear gainers with an increase in the market share were the Chinese handset giants Lenovo & Huawei, who captured the third and fourth positions respectively.
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.
This means that there is not really that much difference between any top of the range models, and the latest Chinese models. They all run recent versions of Android, and have similar specs, although the hardware is not often the latest, as this helps to keep the prices low. Some of the Chinese handsets are probably manufactured in the same factories as some of the big names, the majority of Apple products are made in China.
So unlike a few years ago when Chinese mobile phones were inferior to the big brands, that is no longer the case. The mobiles may still be somewhat inferior to the latest branded models, but they are good enough for the general population of China.
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.
The top manufacturers of smartphones in the world were Samsung and Apple in 2013. In 2014 also they led the list by sharing the first and second positions respectively, but the notable feature is the decrease in their respective market shares. Samsung was first with an overall market share of 31.2% which saw a slight drop of 1.2% compared to the market share of Q1 of 2013. Apple came second with a market share of 15.5% in Q1 2014. But Apple also lost 2.2% of their market share of the first quarter in 2013. The clear gainers with an increase in the market share were the Chinese handset giants Lenovo & Huawei, who captured the third and fourth positions respectively.
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.
This means that there is not really that much difference between any top of the range models, and the latest Chinese models. They all run recent versions of Android, and have similar specs, although the hardware is not often the latest, as this helps to keep the prices low. Some of the Chinese handsets are probably manufactured in the same factories as some of the big names, the majority of Apple products are made in China.
So unlike a few years ago when Chinese mobile phones were inferior to the big brands, that is no longer the case. The mobiles may still be somewhat inferior to the latest branded models, but they are good enough for the general population of China.
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.
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