It's almost a cliché to say that Apple and Samsung dictate the tempo of the smartphone market, but there's now more evidence to support that claim. Counterpoint Research has calculated that nine out of the top ten smartphones sold worldwide in 2019 were made by either Apple or Samsung -- Oppo's A5 was the only exception at fifth place. The iPhone XR had the clear lead, representing 3 percent of all phones sold, while the Galaxy A50 was the top Android phone on the list with 1.8 percent.
While this does line up with market share estimates, it doesn't completely reflect the market. Companies like Huawei and BBK (which owns Oppo, Vivo, Realme and OnePlus) often fare well, but their phone sales tend to be distributed across many models rather than a handful of favorites. Still, this showed the lack of variety in the market, and Counterpoint warned that there appeared to be "consolidation" where fewer and fewer phone makers enjoyed success. That's a problem if you're eager for phone choices, especially if you live in a place where one brand reigns supreme.
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Counterpoint Research is a global industry and market research firm providing market data, intelligence, thought leadership and consulting across the technology ecosystem. We advise a diverse range of global clients spanning the supply chain – from chipmakers, component suppliers, manufacturers and software and application developers to service providers, channel players and investors. Our veteran team of analysts serve these clients through our offices located across the key innovation hubs, manufacturing clusters and commercial centers globally. Our analysts consistently engage with C-suite through to strategy, market intelligence, supply chain, R&D, product management, marketing, sales and others across the organization. Counterpoint’s key coverage areas: AI, Automotive, Cloud, Connectivity, Consumer Electronics, Displays, eSIM, IoT, Location Platforms, Macroeconomics, Manufacturing, Networks & Infra, Semiconductors, Smartphones and Wearables.
