According to Counterpoint Researcher’s Monthly China Channel Share Tracker for the second quarter of 2022, Apple’s iPhone did incredibly well in the premium segment, recording a year-over-year increase of 147%.
Chinese iPhone shipments fared incredibly well in the premium segment
According to Counterpoint Research, China’s premium smartphone sales, which includes smartphones which a price tag of over $400, captured 33% of the market in Q2, 2022, compared to 31% in the same period last year. Premium smartphone unit sales saw a decline of 10%, which isn’t terrible compared to the 14% fall in overall market sales. From Counterpoint Research analyst Mengmeng Zhang:
After back from COVID-19 in the second half of 2020, China’s smartphone sales reached a temporary peak in Q1 2021 before declining again and reaching the lowest point in a decade in Q2 2022. This trend prevented a big drop in premium segments in Q2 2022. Of course, lockdowns in key Chinese cities impacted the premium segment sales because customers for this segment are mostly based in these cities.
During this period, Apple saw a 147% year-over-year increase in the $1000 and above segment. Apple’s South Korean competitor Samsung also grew by 133%. “Both these brands benefitted from Huawei’s decline and the shift in purchase trends towards premium phones in China,” Zhang says.
In addition, Vivo grew a whopping 504% year-over-year in the premium segment, helping it reach the second spot in the market for the first time. Another first in the second quarter, Huawei was displaced to the second spot in China’s premium segment for the first time ever.
Apple and Huawei have been competing for the first and second spots for long. But now other major Chinese OEMs have started targeting the premium segment
In Q2 2022, vivo faced strong competition from HONOR in the $400 and above segment, where HONOR grew unit sales and market share by 43% and 50% respectively. Both vendors managed to gain a significant share from Huawei and OPPO, which gave up a combined share of almost one-sixth of the market
Going forward, Samsung is expected to capture a bigger share in the market due to its foldable smartphones. On the other hand, Apple’s upcoming flagship iPhone 14 lineup is set to be announced at the “Far Out” event on September 7.
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