New data reveals that Apple’s iPhone 13 now dominates 62% of the premium smartphone market in the first quarter of 2022. This news arrives after Counterpoint Research made a revelation that the iPhone 13 continues to be the best-selling smart phone globally for April.
iPhone 13 Dominates Global Premium Market
The study reveals that Cupertino was able to reach its highest first-quarter share in the premium segment since the first quarter of 2017. Additionally, while the global premium smartphone market sales volume saw an 8% decline year over year during the quarter, the iPhone still made a better performance in the overall smartphone market. However, the market also saw a decline of 10%.
Apple continues to lead in terms of smartphones. This is the eight consecutive market growth in which the premium market has outperformed overall smartphone market growth. Counterpoint Research also shows that this 62% market share has been driven by the iPhone 13 series. The phone has been the best-selling model globally each month since October 2021.
Counterpoint Research stated,
The volume growth in the ultra-premium segment was driven by Apple and Samsung. The iPhone 13 Pro Max and the iPhone 13 Pro together captured over two-thirds of sales volume within the ultra-premium price segment. This was driven by strong volume growth in the US, China, and Western Europe. In China, the sales in the >US$1000 price segment grew 176% YoY in Q1 2022. The segment alone captured over one-fifth of China’s smartphone market value during the quarter. Apple emerged as the biggest winner from Huawei’s decline in the premium market. The premium market in China still holds potential, and will be driven by upgrades, especially by users from Huawei’s large installed base.
Following in Footsteps
Samsung was the second-best in the premium segment. However, the company has seen a decline in overall share. This is due to a delay in the launch of the Galaxy S22 series. One can compare this to the S21 series launch in 2021. Furthermore, Counterpoint Research stated that “the Galaxy S22 Ultra has been a hit combining the best of the S series and the Note series”.
For Apple, the company jumped from 57% in first quarter of 2021 to 62% in Q1 2022. This is largely in thanks to the iPhone 13. On the other hand, Samsung saw a decline from 18% last year to 16% in 2022. Lastly, Huawei saw a major decline from 9% to 3% in just a year.
Concerning the current generation of Apple smartphones, the iPhone 13 series brought a smaller notch for the first time since the introduction of the iPhone X. The iPhone 13 also brought improvements to the battery and camera. Furthermore, Apple also introduced a new color for both the regular and Pro iPhone models at the beginning of the year to boost sales.
The iPhone 14 is likely to see an introduction to the market in the following months.