The South East Asia (SEA) smartphone market declined in the first half of 2020 due to COVID-19 lockdowns. But as the restrictions started to ease, OEMs were quick enough to focus on online channels to meet the pent-up demand. Online channels in Indonesia reached their highest point in Q4 2020, with brands like Xiaomi and realme leading online sales. Thailand’s smartphone market also saw online channels registering strong growth, leading to only a marginal overall annual decline.
With the pandemic, the market dynamics completely changed with Lazada leading the pack in the region and Shopee being the fastest-growing e-commerce platform. Smaller platforms like Bukalapak, Blibli, Akulaku and JD.ID also saw increased presence in the online space. But what were the key factors contributing to the growth? How are smartphone makers and e-commerce platforms working closely to meet consumer demand?
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Maurice Klaehne is joined by Senior Research Analyst Glen Cardoza to talk about the dynamics of SEA smartphone market and growth of online channels. With COVID-19 causing disruptions in the supply chain, smartphone makers have been recalibrating and diversifying production to reduce overreliance on China. But what makes Vietnam an attractive option for smartphone makers to invest in? Glen shares some valuable insights on this topic and more.
We saw the first wave of 5G smartphone launches in H1 2019 with prices above $1,000. These premium smartphones gave way to a completely new pricing landscape in just around a year, with the most affordable 5G smartphone coming under $200 in China in 2020. Moving into 2021, we have the ongoing issue of component shortages across the semiconductor industry.
In our previous podcast, we discussed the auto sector’s semiconductor shortage and how it may not ease until late 2021. But how will the chip and component shortage impact the smartphone market in 2021? Will we see the prices of 5G smartphones going down further or will they stabilize? While operators in the US are pushing for mmWave 5G, the other regions are mostly looking at Sub-6GHz. So, will Sub-6GHz 5G smartphones outsell the mmWave ones?
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted automobile sales in H1 2020. But as the demand started recovering in H2 2020, the semiconductor shortage crisis hit the automobile industry too. The chipset production capacity is already stretched by the rise in demand from smartphones and laptops due to work-from-home and learn-from-home. As a result, the semiconductor shortage faced by the automobile industry is unlikely to ease before late 2021. Some automakers have already been forced to slow down their car sales due to production delays.
The limited capacity expansion of 8-inch semiconductor production is also one of the reasons leading to this shortage, apart from geopolitical uncertainties.
With smartphones becoming ubiquitous, data security has come under the scanner. In particular, robust security is needed to use smartphones for activities like financial transactions and for unlocking our homes and cars. This is where embedded hardware security can help in storing user credentials securely in an environment called secure element (SE).
Around 35% of the smartphones sold globally in H1 2020 had embedded hardware security, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Component Practice. Apple led with 39% market share, followed by Huawei, Qualcomm and Samsung. Currently, the secure element chips are mostly seen in premium smartphones, but we expect them to trickle down to the lower tiers. By 2025, over 50% of smartphones will have embedded hardware security.
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Maurice Klaehne is joined by research analyst Parv Sharma to discuss different types of secure elements in smartphones. The discussion also deep-dives into the embedded secure element (eSE), integrated secure element (inSE), and physically unclonable function (PUF).
The comprehensive and in-depth report on “Global Secure Smartphone Sales by Model Tracker” is a part of our security service. The report is available for download here.
The Subscriber Identity Module, which we familiarly know as SIM card, has been around for nearly three decades now. One needs to insert this card into a mobile phone, Mi-Fi dongle and other devices to get connectivity. Over the years, the size of the SIM card has shrunk from a credit card form factor to a size smaller than the index fingernail. But as we move into a more connected world with NB-IoT devices and foldable smartphones, the eSIM (or embedded SIM) is gaining popularity.
The embedded SIM eliminates the need for having a physical SIM card slot, thus saving the board space for engineers, which can be used for other components. It has a wide range of applications, from smartphones and smartwatches to always-connected laptops and NB-IoT devices. But what are the challenges when it comes to implementing the embedded SIM? What are the benefits for the consumers, device makers and network operators? We answer all that and more in this podcast.
Thales, G+D and ST Micro lead eSIM enablement and eSIM management landscapes. Over one billion eSIM capable devices have been shipped cumulatively between 2014-2020, and another six billion total cumulative shipments are expected between 2021-2025.
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Peter Richardson is joined by VP of Research Neil Shah and Senior Analyst Karan Dasaor to discuss types of eSIMs, top players in the industry, and more. The discussion also touches upon the impact of implementing eSIM on the BOM cost and benefits across the value chain.
We have extensively covered a lot more details in our reports which can be accessed below.
After a few years of decline, we were expecting the smartphone market to grow in 2020. Sure enough, the year did start on a good note. But towards the end of the first quarter, the COVID-19 outbreak started, leading to lockdowns being imposed in several countries over the coming months. All this resulted in a big fall in supply and demand. But as restrictions started to ease, we saw a recovery in sales due to pent-up demand and the new normal of work-from-home and study-from-home. In this podcast, we take a quick look at how 2020 fared and our outlook for 2021.
Despite the economic uncertainty due to COVID-19, the key takeaway from 2020 is that the smartphone market is not only resilient but also dynamic to respond to changing realities. Though the immediate trigger was the pandemic, 2020 saw the market accelerating its shift to online channels. The year also saw the US sanctions on Huawei being tightened, causing a major impact on the company. Huawei lost access to GMS for Play Store and TSMC for chipsets, among others.
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Peter Richardson is joined by Associate Director Tarun Pathak to talk about how 2020 shaped up amid the coronavirus pandemic. They also discuss the important events that took place this year, brand strategies and more. Finally, we also share our outlook for 2021.
When first introduced, eXtended reality (XR) appeared like a futuristic concept. But after years of research and development, the technology is now accessible to consumers and enterprises. Yet, XR is having a hard time transitioning from a fantasy concept to something that is more practical and generates revenue. But the recent launch of the Oculus Quest 2 does make us feel a little optimistic about the technology. It is built on Qualcomm’s XR2 platform, which offers new levels of power to the standalone virtual reality (VR) headset.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world around us. People are working from home, and students learning from home. With more time being spent at home, activities like gaming are becoming popular. While standalone gaming can be one of the key drivers for the XR platform, XR being all about offering users with an immersive experience, learning too can be fun with it. Virtual and augmented reality (AR) can help explain scientific topics like the universe in an exciting way. Further, it can even benefit the manufacturing and healthcare sectors among many other possibilities.
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Peter Richardson is joined by Research Analysts Karn Chauhan and Harmeet Singhwalia to share their perspectives on eXtended reality. They discuss the current developments in the XR industry, limitations and future expectations, besides going into questions like how will XR benefit from 5G, and will the rumored Apple glasses be the inflection point that the XR industry needs for mass adoption. All this and more in the podcast below.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a difficult year, testing the world’s resilience on multiple fronts. It has also forced many people to focus on their health and wellness. Boosting immunity and staying fit have now become a priority. As a result, wearables are increasingly playing an important role in helping people monitor their fitness, sleep, heart rate and other parameters.
Wearables come in different forms, from fitness bands to smartwatches. These devices have a unique proposition as they are worn on wrist. This enables the user to constantly monitor vital health parameters. Basic fitness trackers come with features like a pedometer, sleep monitor and heart rate sensor. The advanced ones include GPS and workout detection features to log cycling, skipping, squats and other forms of exercises. Smartwatches like the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch feature ECG, fall detection and LTE connectivity as well.
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Peter Richardson is joined by Senior Analyst Yang Wang and Research Analyst Ankit Malhotra to discuss wearables. The discussion touches upon how wearables are motivating users to get fitter, and how they are saving lives. We also talk about how OEMs can earn recurring revenues by offering additional services, and different partnerships that could help accelerate the adoption.
Mobile gaming has come a long way over the past two decades. From popular Snake game on Nokia phones with a monochrome display to 2D games on color screen phones and 3D gaming on smartphones, it has evolved a lot. We have seen Symbian OS phones like the Nokia N-Gage, early Android phones like the Sony Xperia Play and dual screen phones like the LG G8X ThinQ. And now, there is a completely new breed of gaming smartphones out there, such as the Asus ROG Phone 3, Razer Phone 2 and Lenovo Legion, which is much more than just flagships.
The gaming smartphones are more powerful than the regular flagship smartphones in terms of hardware, design and capabilities. In fact, popular features such as high refresh rate displays, vapour chamber cooling and dedicated gaming mode were first introduced in gaming smartphones. But what differentiates these special phones from regular flagship smartphones? And who are these phones meant for? We discuss all that and more in a podcast.
In the latest episode of ‘The Counterpoint Podcast’, host Maurice Klaehne is joined by Dinesh Sharma, Business Head, Commercial PC and Smartphone, Asus India, to talk about gaming smartphones, mobile gaming, 5G, cloud gaming and much more.
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