Global premium smartphone market grew 24% in 2021 | Apple was the leading OEM in the segment

March 24th 2022

2 mins read

Global premium smartphone market grew 24% in 2021 | Apple was the leading OEM in the segment

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Global Premium Smartphone Market 2021

The premium smartphone segment was profitable for smartphone OEMs in 2021. According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, the global premium smartphone market saw a 24% year-on-year growth in 2021. The premium smartphones even outpaced the 7% YoY growth of the overall global smartphone sales in the year. The market share of premium smartphones was at its highest ever, reaching 27% of the total global smartphone sales in 2021.

The growth in the premium segment was driven by the demand for 5G devices. Also, in regions like China and Western Europe, smartphone OEMs like Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo were able to capitalize on the gap left by Huawei.

>>> Foldable smartphone market sees 309% year-on-year growth in 2021

When it comes to OEMs, Apple was the dominant market leader with a 60% market share mark. Driven by its iPhone 12 and 13 series sales, the delayed launch of Apple devices in 2020 also pushed demand to 2021. This Cupertino-based tech giant was the top OEM in every region when it came to premium smartphones.

After Apple, Samsung occupied most of the premium market with a 17% share. Its sales grew 6% YoY, but OEM lost its share. The latest Galaxy foldable series did perform well for Samsung, but component shortages, lack of a new Note series, and an FE series refresh in 2021 affected the gains of Samsung.

>>> Global 5G smartphones sales surpassed 4G for the first time

With Huawei's market share crashing down, other Chinese OEMs were able to capitalize on the gap. Xiaomi was its Mi 11 series was in the top-five list for the premium segment in almost all the regions where it operates, except for North America and India. Oppo and Vivo saw their sales more than double in the premium segment in 2021, growing 116% and 103%, respectively. Oppo was able to capture the affordable-premium segment in China and also gained the market in Europe. Vivo, on the other hand, was driven by the X60 and X50 series in China and Southeast Asia.

>>> Apple leads the global smartphone shipments in Q4 2021, boosted by its iPhone 13 series