Service: Market Pulse

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.

Table of Contents:

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Varun Mishra
Number of Pages: 41
Published Date: April 2021

Overview:

• Market shows recovery, albeit held back by continuing component shortages; China and India see sales growth
  • January sell-through for smartphones showed 2% growth compared to same period last year which was impressive as the market signaled recovery. We think if it weren’t for the component shortages in December, sales could have been higher still. Sell-in in January was less than sell-through again, reflecting the shortage of components in the industry.
  • Smartphone market sales in China and India both showed growth as the market slowly recovered. Other regions like the US showed flat growth compared to last year.
• Apple demand spills over to January, sees highest market share in Canada; OPPO tops China market
  • Apple sell-through as increased 29% YoY due to demand spilling over to January owing to late launch. Apple also achieved its highest ever market share in Canada in January, capturing over 70% of the smartphone market. While iPhone 12 was the best-selling model for Apple globally in January, the iPhone 12 Pro Max continues to be the best-selling device in the US, with consumers preferring the higher end version. This will continue to drive up the ASPs for Apple in Q1 2021.
  • OPPO’s market share increased to 11% in January with sales growing 10% month on month and 31% YoY. This was driven by the Reno 5 series growth in China which contributed to OPPO becoming the number one OEM in China in January. OPPO’s growth was in part also driven by Huawei’s decline. A trend that also benefitted Xiaomi and Vivo.
• S21 drives Samsung’s share in the ultra-premium segment; 5G phones becoming popular in the sub-US$300 segment
  • The ultra premium ($800 and above) segment share declined compared to December, led by declining Apple sales. Samsung’s share in this segment, which had consistently declined in Q4 following the iPhone launch, increased noticeably in January with the S21 launch. We expect this to further increase in February as more markets received S21 volume.
  • 5G devices are finding their way into the sub-US$300 price band with OPPO A72 5G and Xiaomi Redmi K30 5G featuring among the top three best-selling 5G-ready devices.

Table of Contents:

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Varun Mishra
Number of Pages: 41
Published Date: March 2021

Overview:

• Global smartphone sell-in robust in November; Sell though also grows sequentially
  • November sell in was robust as iPhone 12 series production was full steam ahead. Also, Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Oppo tried to produce as much as they could but were held back by shortages in components like chipsets from MediaTek as well as power management and display driver IC’s. Sell in during this November could have exceeded last year without these component constraints.
  • Sell through demand improved compared to last month in regions like US and China as the shopping season began.
  • Europe and Japan sales also grew sequentially driven by the first full month of iPhone sales. Middle East and Africa smartphone demand is also recovering strongly entering Q4 which is traditionally the busiest shopping season.
• Apple grows significantly during the first full month of the new iPhone Sales
  • Apple captured over one-fifth of the global smartphone market as its sales increased 55% month on month and 20% year on year, driven by the new iPhone 12 series.
  • The pent-up demand for a new 5G iPhone, strong carrier promotions especially in the US, the longevity of iPhone 11 are some of the reasons for this growth.
  • Apple’s October-November iPhone sales signal a record Q4 quarter. 2021 will also be very strong as some demand falls into Q1 and if Apple returns to a September launch there will be very positive comps vs. 2020.
• Premium Segment (US$600 and above) captures over one fifth of global smartphone sales in November
  • In November, the global smartphone market skewed towards the premium segment as US$600 and above price band captured 22% of the market share as compared to 13% last month.
  • This increase was driven by Apple, as it captured 81% of share in the ultra-premium price band and 66% of share in the US$600 – US$799 price band.
  • The trend is likely to continue in December driven by the year-end festive season sales. The supply for the iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max is getting more regular as lead times fall.

Table of Contents:

• Key Takeaways
• Global Mobile Handset Market Analysis
• Country-Level Smartphone Market Analysis
• Global Hardware Feature Analysis
• Global Hit Model Analysis

Author: Varun Mishra
Number of Pages: 41
Published Date: January 2021