Overview:

• Demand declines sequentially due to seasonality; Shortages issue compounding
  • In February, demand declined sequentially in several regions including China, India, and the USA. In the US this was due to seasonality and cooling of Apple sales. The delayed tax refund in the US also affected sales negatively. The market would have declined more if it were not for the early launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S21.
  • Sell-in decreased as well and dropped below sell-through. It was mostly due to the usual closure of factories in China during Lunar New Year. But this time it was also the resurgence of COVID restrictions in Europe, and component shortages across the supply chain.
  • The issue of shortages is worsening. A series of events has hit the industry. The Texas winter storm forced the Samsung Austin semiconductor production to halt temporarily. RFICs were affected in this case. The shortages in the automotive industry are compounding and affecting smartphone partially as well. We expect the capacity shortage to persist through H1 2021. Some brands are experiencing shortages that force them to delay some products as components are prioritized to large customers and important flagship products.
• OPPO continues to lead China Market – reaches highest ever Global market share; Vivo tops China 5G Market
  • OPPO’s sales increased 9% month on month reaching the highest ever market share globally. OPPO has been able to leverage Huawei’s decline in China where it was the top OEM for February as well, capturing over 23% of the market. At the same time, OPPO has been able to gain share in overseas markets like India, Europe, Japan and South East Asia. It has been consistently gaining share across all regions.
  • Vivo led the 5G market in China for the first time ever driven by the X60 and the S series. Huawei has been the leader in Chinese 5G market in the past. But its decline has created a gap in the market which is now being leveraged by Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi.
• Samsung rebounds in the ultra premium segment driven by GS21 series.
  • Samsung sales increased month on month as this was the first full month of S21 sales. The S21 is performing better than the S20 but not as well as the first month of S10 Sales. Apple lost share to Samsung in the premium segment.
  • The higher-end S21 Ultra is outselling the S21 and S21 Plus. This is driven by strong operator promotions, especially in the US. The S21 Ultra was the third best selling device in the ultra premium segment after the iPhone 12 Pro Max and the iPhone 12 Pro.
  • Apple’s share reduced in all price bands; however, sales remain as strong as compared to 2020. iPhone 12 was still the best-selling device for the month globally followed by the 12 Pro Max, the 12 Pro and the iPhone 11. Even the iPhone SE continues to do well in markets like Japan.

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