China accounts for 70% of Top Smartphone Vendors Worldwide
Chinese smartphone brands are dominating the global market backed by factors like competitive prices alongside a readily available market in the developing world.
Data acquired by Finbold indicates that China hosts about 70% of the top ten smartphone vendors globally as of 2020. Despite the Chinese dominance, South Korea’s Samsung has the largest market share at an estimated 19.2%. Apple is the only U.S. vendor on the list controlling a share of about 15.1% backed by its luxury products’ brand. Huawei ranks third with an estimated market share of 14.1%. Cumulatively, the top three vendors account for almost half of the global smartphone market at 48.4%.
Notably, South Korea’s second vendor on the list, LG, ranks ninth with a market share of 1.9%. The manufacturer has since announced an end to its smartphone manufacturing business amid stiff dominance by Samsung and Apple.
Why China has a grip on the global smartphone market share
China is known to harness engineering expertise while adopting an aggressive approach to sales and supply chain. Most Chinese manufacturers have a reputation for developing medium to high-end devices and offer many flagship products catering to a broad audience. Additionally, most Chinese products have a high-cost performance ratio in return, easily penetrating price-sensitive markets like India and Africa.
In general, Chinese manufacturers’ great advantage has been price. With low-priced competitors from China, manufacturers like Samsung have also resorted to offering smartphones across all price ranges.
The dominance also reflects China’s rising domestic competitiveness in the telecoms sector. Smartphone vendors operate in a crowded, fragmented, and fiercely competitive local market. Competitors usually seek to remain on top by undercutting each other with price and design.
Most Chinese manufacturers usually market their products through aggressive promotions, advanced designs, and features. Furthermore, they offer a wide range of models to entice both younger and affluent buyers. The model is replicated domestically and abroad.
On the other hand, China’s local competition has seen top vendors take the lead in exploring other technologies like expansion into the 5G portfolio. Our previous research indicates that Huawei leads in active 5G-ready deviceswith a share of 26.9% globally as of Q4 2020. Samsung follows at 25.1%, while Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) accounts for a share of 19.5%. Huawei’s dominance is backed by China’s position as a 5G hub alongside an extensive domestic market.
Worth mentioning is that manufacturers who take the lead in leveraging the 5G technology might flip the scale in terms of the smartphone vendors’ market share. Interestingly, while vendors like Huawei were already rolling out deliveries of 5G smartphones, competitors like Apple were still carrying out research and testing of the technology.
Apple ranks top by maintaining luxury brand status
As other vendors release products targeting all consumers, Apple still ranks second by holding onto its luxury smartphone image. The U.S.-based firm boasts of a robust and loyal customer base, with China accounting for a significant share. Following the release of 5G-enabled iPhones, Apple stands a substantial chance of eating into the Samsung and Huawei market share.
It is essential to mention that the Chinese population offers a lucrative opportunity for foreign manufacturers who have been making attempts to enter and dominate the market. However, for vendors like Samsung and Apple, penetrating the Chinese market comes with a host of challenges. Most consumers in China tend to favor local brands alongside the Chinese-language software that integrates with domestic social networks.
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
