According to Counterpoint Research's Market Pulse Service, China's premium smartphone market share increased to 33% in the second quarter of 2022, compared to 31% in the same period last year.
The market share of high-end segments (including affordable high-end, high-end and super high-end segments) decreased by only 10%. The phone segment priced from 600 USD - 799 USD (high-end) and 1,000 USD or more (super high-end) recorded an increase in the second quarter of 2022.
Commenting on the changes in the high-end segment, analyst Mengmeng Zhang said: After recovering from the COVID-19 epidemic in the second half of 2020, smartphone sales in China temporarily peaked in the first quarter of 2021 before falling back and reaching a decade-low in the second quarter of 2022. This trend has prevented a major decline in the high-end segment in the second quarter of 2022. Of course, the closure in some key Chinese cities has affected high-end sales, as customers in this segment mainly live in these cities."
Mr. Zhang added, Apple has done well in the $1000 and above segment, recording a 147% year-on-year increase, while Samsung also increased by 133% year-on-year. Both have benefited from Huawei's decline and the shopping trend shifting to high-end devices of Chinese users. With the success of the X80 series, Vivo has achieved impressive growth of 504% in the high-end segment.
Compared to a year ago, Apple's market share increased from 43% to 48%. But despite increased sales, Samsung's market share has decreased from 19% to 11%. As a result, Samsung has lost second place to Vivo, as its market share has doubled from 6% to 13%. Oppo decreased from 13% to 8%, while Honor increased from 6% to 9%.
Chinas top original equipment manufacturers have been actively focusing on the high-end segment with specific strategies, including bringing custom-made flag-of-line phones to Chinese consumers and partnering with traditional camera manufacturers such as Leica, Zeiss and Hasselblad, said senior analyst Varun Mishra.
