Samsung suddenly reached the top of smartphone market share after 5 years, did Apple flinch?

Recently, research firm Counterpoint Research has revealed remarkable information in its latest report on the global smartphone market.

Currently, smartphone companies are struggling as their businesses face a series of “storms” – weakening demand combined with severe supply chain problems.

Samsung still growing in April 2022

Sales of smartphones by Samsung rose 9% year-on-year in April as the market as a whole fell 8% year-on-year, hitting its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

Galaxy S22.

The Korean brand’s impressive performance is fueled by the popularity of the Galaxy A models in the mid-range segment and the Galaxy S22 series in the market. smartphone high-class.

Recent advertising campaigns have boosted demand for Samsung phones in key markets like Latin America and India, where it overtook Xiaomi last month to take the top spot, Counterpoint Research said. .

However, the biggest factor to Samsung’s recent success is probably the brand’s little exposure to China. The world’s largest smartphone market has been severely impacted in recent weeks by pandemic-related lockdowns.

These restrictions have impacted both demand and production. Samsung’s small presence in China, both from a sales and manufacturing perspective, was previously seen as a weakness, but is now an advantage.

Samsung records highest market share since 2017

All of the above factors helped Samsung capture 24% of the global smartphone market share in April 2022. This number helps the company mark the third consecutive month of increasing market share as well as the third consecutive month of 2022 as the world’s number one smartphone brand.

Galaxy S22 Ultra.

Last month, its market share marked a five-year high. The last time Samsung captured a larger market share was in April 2017 with 25% of worldwide smartphone sales.

Going forward, Counterpoint Research expects Samsung to retain its position as the world’s leading smartphone brand in the second quarter of 2022. The arrival of new foldable smartphones, namely the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Galaxy Z Fold 4, will help the company maintain sales throughout the third quarter of the year.

Of course, when the iPhone 14 series launches in September, Samsung will lose some market share. Apple usually overtakes its Korean “competitor” in the fourth quarter, and this will happen this year.

Apple and Xiaomi plummeted

As for “Apple Defect”, this brand captured 15% of the smartphone market in April. Although that number is still impressive, it is a sharp decline compared to the end of 2021 and marks the fourth consecutive month of market share decline.

Smartphone market share of 3 biggest brands in the world over time.

However, this is its annual cycle, everything will pick up again when new iPhones are released, except for the iPhone SE (2022) that came out earlier this year.

Xiaomi, on the other hand, holds 12% of the market share – a pretty steady rate. Statistically, the company has held at the same level since September 2021. However, it has struggled more than its rivals with supply chain issues. Without turning the tide in the coming months, the company is unlikely to reach the performance of 2021.