- At the end of 2019, We present you the list of top 5 smartphone brands which dominated the global market with some new names coming in the limelight.
Think of the most irresistible gadget and it turns out to be your phone. This device has nested in the lives of people and its transition has been amazing!
25 years ago, it was put on the table by IBM that used ROM-DOS (a modified version of MS-DOS). Pre-Android era (2000-07) saw giants like Ericsson, Nokia, Microsoft, LG, Motorola, Blackberry offering smartphones on which one can play games, record photos/videos, surf the internet and do smart (and fun) things!
2007 saw 2 big revolutions in the smartphone market. First was Steve Jobs with Apple iPhone by his side followed by HTC Dream the first android phone. iOS and Android took smartphones to a whole new level.
“The most advanced phones are called smartphones so they say. The problem is they are not so smart and they are not so easy to use. What we want to do is make a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been and super easy to use. This is what the iPhone is. So, we’re going to reinvent the phone and we’re going to start with a revolutionary user interface” – Steve Jobs during the launch of iPhone, 2007
Other than Apple, Microsoft, and Blackberry, all other smartphones are operating on the Android operating system and the android market is bombarded with choices. From the most basic phone starting from INR 2K to the most sophisticated ones can cost you up to 70-80K!
Since its inception, some brands entered the market, enjoyed hype for a while and departed after some time while some stayed and improvised with technological changes. But the question is, who are the global giants of the smartphone market?
Source- Digital Trends
To be a global brand one needs to maintain a balance between its presence and its userbase. A brand might be present in 10 countries but if its userbase is only upper class or upper-middle class, it still needs to catch up to be one of the top global brands.
The year 2019 witnessed some eye-opening trends in the smartphone market. While Samsung and Apple fought for a larger chunk of the market, both the giants are facing fierce competition from Chinese smartphones like Xiaomi, OPPO, Lenovo, Huawei, and Vivo. Synonym of the most highly competitive market should be the smartphone market.
As the year ends, these 5 smartphone brands have proved to be global top 5 smartphone brands of the year.
Samsung: Samsung being the leader bags 23% of the global market share. The phone is available for all. From INR 2K it can cost up to INR 1 lakh. As one raises their expectations from smartphones, they also need to raise their bar of spending on phones. The most popular series has been Galaxy and Galaxy Note series. You can find humongous options in Samsung and one pays for camera quality, storage, RAM/ROM size, memory. Samsung over 75 mn smartphones in Q2 2019 with China and India being the major markets.
Huawei: It’s been in the 2nd position because in spite of being banned from the 3rd largest smartphone user country US. Huawei alone has an 18% market share and if other Chinese smartphones like OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Redmi are combined, their share is approx. 42% globally. While the basic Huawei phone costs around INR 6K, while it’s phone Mate 30, is around INR 70K. The Chinese giant has shipped over 200mn smartphones globally.
Apple: Although Apple no longer reveals its iPhone sales according to the revenues, the iPhone generated approx. $26 bn in 2019 that makes them 3rd brand in the global market. Apple is the only non-android phone that’s competing against the other global giants who are operating on the android platform. However, one issue with the iPhone is that with their every launch, users are finding it hard to justify their spending on a new version of iPhones. Their X series was not a successful one throughout. Apple did merely sell 38mn iPhones in Q2 2019 sources say.
Realme: When major giants showed negative figures due to the global smartphone market slowdown, it was Realme that popped up with 800% growth in Q3 2019. It was established in 2018 and its fastest-growing brand this year. It sold approx. 10mn smartphones and Indonesia and India accounted for 80% of its shipments. In terms of online-only shipment, the company’s market share is 23% in Q3 (it was 16% in Q2).
The strength of the brand lies in the fast execution of technology put forward at affordable prices in front of its customers. With just 250$ the phone comes with quad-cam, 64MP rear camera, waterdrop design, and pop-up selfie.
The future of Realme seems to be bright provided with continuous improvement in their devices and penetrate in the global market more like ever before.
Xiaomi: After 2 years of battling and surviving in the global market Xiaomi holds 8% of the market share (thanks to its immense success in India). It surpassed OPPO globally to take 4th position. In Q2 2019, it shipped approx. 32mn smartphones while in Q3 their shipments declined to approx. 31mn. Its MI series has been doing wonders in India and its value for money has given this brand a number 4 position globally.
It will be interesting to see who leads the market the next year. Other major brands are slowly shaking up the market. Quality phones like OnePlus & Google’s Pixel have yet to set a strong foothold.
The smartphone market might seem to shrink a bit this year, but continuous development and up-gradation of smartphones seem to be endless.
