Whip Bull reported today
On January 5, according to the monthly report on mobile phone sales released by Counterpoint Research, the sales of the global high-end smartphone (wholesale price ≥ $600) market are expected to increase by 6% year-on-year in 2023, setting a new record, which is in contrast to the expected decline in the overall global smartphone market in 2023.
The high-end segment is expected to account for nearly a quarter of the global smartphone market sales in 2023, with revenue accounting for 60%.
Varun Mishra, a senior analyst, said there has been a shift in consumer buying patterns in the smartphone market. Considering the importance of smartphones in users' lives, consumers are willing to spend more money on high-quality devices in order to extend their lifespan. Owning the latest flagship model has also become a status symbol for many consumers, especially those who jump directly from the mid-range to the high-end market.
In addition, these devices are also becoming more affordable due to the promotional season and the advent of multiple payment options such as 24 interest-free installments.
Regionally, most of the growth in the global premium market in 2023 came from China, Western Europe, India, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. In fact, China, India, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America are expected to set new high-end sales records, with India being the world's fastest-growing high-end market.
Source: Counterpoint Research's Market Pulse Service
Note: Data for the fourth quarter of 2023 is preliminary
In terms of brands, Apple is still the dominant player in the high-end market, with a market share of 71% in 2023, but its market share has decreased by 4% compared to 75% in 2022.
There are two main reasons for the decline:
First, its own innovation is insufficient, and the market has lost enthusiasm. After the release of the iPhone 15 series this year, most users thought that the highlights of the new series after improvements and updates were very limited, and the appearance was similar for many years, which also caused aesthetic fatigue.
At the same time, there are many users who complain that the new machine has problems such as dust accumulation, splash screen, and bumps, which in turn leads to some potential users switching to other brands.
The most direct feedback is that according to a survey released by the survey agency PerfectRec, 695,000 Google users rated the iPhone 15 Pro model, and only 72% of users gave a five-star positive rating, even lower than 74% of the iPhone 8, a record low. The iPhone 13 Pro model has the highest level of satisfaction, with 84% giving it a five-star review.
Second, Huawei's sudden rise has had an impact on Apple. The chart above shows that Huawei's market share of high-end machines will be 3% in 2022 and 5% in 2023, and the middle 2% should be mainly contributed by the domestic market. After all, the dense Internet buzzword "far ahead" is not just a shout. In fact, for a long time after the release of the Mate 60 series, the hot-selling models were out of stock, and the phenomenon of a price increase of 2000 yuan was also the norm.
According to one data, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro sold 1.6 million units in the six weeks after its release, and 400,000 units in the two weeks following Apple's iPhone 15 series of phones. On the other hand, Apple's iPhone 15 sales in the first 17 days after its launch in China were not as good as last year's iPhone 14, down 4.5% over the same period.
There is a view that if Huawei's production capacity keeps up, then its market share will surely climb to a new height.
In addition, foldable screen phones have also become a differentiator in the high-end market. The report points out that within the high-end market, it is the ultra-high-end segment that is driving growth, that is, models in the $1,000 and above price range, and a large part of this is generally more expensive folding screen phones.
The report estimates that consumers bought about 16 million foldable phones in 2023, which accounts for about 1.3% of total smartphone sales. By 2027, the share of foldable phones in the high-end smartphone market could jump to around 33%.
It is reported that the ultra-high-end segment will account for more than one-third of the total sales volume of the high-end market in 2023.
Apple's absence in folding screen models has also allowed Huawei to seize the opportunity in the high-end market.
Huawei launched a new folding machine Mate X3 in March, with a starting price of 12,999 yuan. Two months after the Mate X3 went on sale, Huawei doubled its previous shipment of 1.47 million units to more than 3 million units.
According to market research agency Gartner, in the first half of 2023, Samsung's market share reached 71% to rank first among folding phone brands, and Huawei ranked second with a 12% share. In the domestic market, Huawei ranks first with a market share of 28.6%.
At present, the penetration rate of folding screens in the field of mobile phones is still low. Judging from Huawei's actions, the folding screen may be the focus of Huawei's next step.
Huawei's strongest folding screen Mate X5 opened the pre-sale of the deposit in September, and when the price was not officially announced, it was sold out in seconds, continuing the popularity of the Mate 60 Pro series.
According to the "Economic Daily", citing supply chain sources, Huawei has set a very positive goal for folding screen mobile phones this year, from 2.6 million units last year to 7 million to 10 million units, a maximum increase of three times. According to supply chain sources, Huawei has vigorously "scavenged" the CMOS image sensor (CIS), a key component, which is mainly supplied by mainland manufacturer Haowei.
The report also said that Huawei will launch 3 folding screen mobile phones this year and continue to expand overseas markets to narrow the gap with Samsung.
The research report of China Securities Construction Investment also pointed out that the launch of Huawei's new folding machine has attracted attention, and the overall iteration of the folding machine has become more mature (the price and thinness are comparable to the iPhone flagship), driving the folding machine market to usher in an explosion. At present, the penetration rate is only in single digits, and it is in the stage of 1~N explosive growth. Global shipments will increase from 13.1 million units in 2022 to 100 million units in 2027, growing at a CAGR of 51%.