The Mi 10 Could Help Xiaomi Increase its Global Presence in the Ultra-Premium Segment

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the global smartphone market to experience its fastest ever decline of 13% YoY in Q1 2020. While Samsung, Huawei, and Apple have been impacted, Xiaomi has seen a 7% growth, mostly coming from markets outside China. The growth also saw Xiaomi becoming the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in the world. While most of this growth comes from affordable to mid-premium…

Samsung Recaptures Top Spot in India Premium Smartphone Segment During Q1 2020

India's smartphone shipments in the premium segment (>₹30,000 or roughly >US$400) grew 21% YoY with the market-driven by new launches and aggressive offers. Although Q1 witnessed the launch of 5G phones and the entry of new players in the premium smartphone segment, growth was less than expected due to lockdowns, resulting in zero shipments in the last week of March. Samsung’s premium…

US Smartphone Market Down 21% as COVID-19 Impacts Both Supply and Demand

 New York, San Diego, Buenos Aires, London, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul May 7, 2020 According to Counterpoint's latest US Channel Share Tracker, Q1 2020 saw a 21% year-over-year (YoY) decline in US smartphone sales driven by store closures and stay-at-home orders in the latter part of the quarter. Speaking about Q1 market dynamics, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said, “In Q1 we…

Galaxy S20 Zooms in on the Smartphone Camera Trends to Come This Year

Samsung’s recently launched Galaxy S20 series reveals several key camera trends we are likely to see for premium smartphones this year. They include large image sensors, powerful optical zoom functionality, 108MP sensors and advanced camera array setups. Big on image sensors Image sensors are semiconductors that convert light coming through a lens to a digital signal. These sensors are the…

Apple iPhone Sales Suffer Due to COVID-19; Services and Wearables Come to the Rescue

Apple showed it is resilient and has revenue diversification during these extraordinary COVID-19 times. The company saw iPhone volumes decline 7% but was able to more than make up the difference with service revenues which grew 17% and wearables revenues which grew 23%. The company saw iPhone installed bases hit all-time highs in all regions—showing its base remains faithful to the brand. CEO…

Latin America and Asia Drives Growth for Spotify in Q1 2020

Spotify met its business expectation on all major parameters despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Both the MAUs and premium subscribers grew 31% YoY to reach 286 million and 130 million respectively. This is driven by strong regional performances in Latin America and Asia Pacific. MAUs grew 36% YoY in Latin America while it grew 65% YoY in the Rest of the World (the Asia Pacific and Middle East Africa…

Global Smartphone Shipments Plummet Below 300Mn

The global smartphone market declined the fastest ever, -13% YoY, during the quarter 5G smartphone shipment share increased to 8% in Q1 2020 from 1% in Q4 2019 Xiaomi (7%) YoY, and realme (157% YoY) were the only major brands to achieve growth Apple remained resilient even during the COVID-19 as iPhone shipments declined only 5% YoY Q1 2020 New Delhi, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Seoul, San Diego,…

Webinar: COVID-19: Way Forward for Handset Brands in India

Our Associate Director Tarun Pathak will be speaking at the ET Telecom Webinar on April 30th 2020 at 11 AM-12 PM IST. The topic of the webinar is “COVID-19: Way Forward for Handset Brands in India”. About the webinar: The ongoing lockdown in India to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted operations of handset makers. Handset brands and their partners are urging the…

US Smartphone Installed Base Sees Steady 2019 Growth, Strong Top-End Dominance

What was the most popular smartphone at the end of 2019? Apple iPhone 11? What about iPhone XR which was launched in 2018? There are actually many ways to measure the most popular smartphones in the market. One way is to track the most sold or bestselling phone by unit sales but what about the phone currently used the most? For software companies understanding the smartphone model that is most…

Podcast: New iPhone SE – Powerful Apple Experiences at $399

Four years after launching the compact and powerful iPhone SE, Apple has finally launched its successor. The new and refreshed 2020 model is also called the iPhone SE. A lot has changed in the past four years where modern smartphones now come with an edge-to-edge screen, multiple cameras among others. Yet, Apple has gone with the old design featuring thick bezels, a physical home button and more.…

Podcast: OnePlus 8 Series – Flagship Killer to a Killer Flagship

OnePlus has launched its latest flagship smartphones in the US, UK, China and Indian markets. There are two devices – the premium OnePlus 8 Pro and a compact and affordable OnePlus 8. Both smartphones draw their power from a 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, and feature 5G connectivity. But what OnePlus has managed to do in the display, battery and charging department is impressive. The new…

OnePlus 8 Series: Aiming to Redefine Flagship Experience

The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro smartphones are powered by Snapdragon 865 SoC. Both smartphones include support for the 5G network by default. OnePlus 8 Series brings display enhancements in collaboration with Pixelworks. Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in several countries, OnePlus has announced its 2020 flagship smartphones. Just like last year, there are two smartphones this year…

Samsung Became the Third Largest Smartphone Application Processor Vendor Globally in 2019

Samsung captured the third spot for the first time in terms of Application Processor (AP) chipset volumes in 2019. Samsung and HiSilicon (Huawei) were the only vendors in the top five to see positive share growth According to Counterpoint Research’s latest quarterly handset report, Samsung Electronics and HiSilicon (Huawei) were the only vendors among the top five smartphone application…

Galaxy S20 Ultra Shows Off Samsung’s Prowess in Mobile Photography and Zoom Technology

The Galaxy S20 Ultra features four cameras at the back. The primary sensor is of a massive 108MP resolution. There is also a 48MP telephoto folded lens for 10x hybrid optical zoom. Photography is one of the most important aspects of a flagship phone these days. In fact, for most users, the smartphone camera is the only camera they own, and so having a versatile shooter that one can carry…

Huawei CBG Revenue Grew 34% In 2019 Despite Headwinds, But 2020 Will Be More Difficult

Huawei group announced its CY2019 annual result on 31 Mar 2020. Despite the restrictions imposed by the Entity list from the U.S. government since 16 May 2019, total revenue of Huawei group grew by over 19% YoY to near US$123 billion, and its net profit was up by 5.6% YoY to near US$9 billion. Here, we will analyze the business performance of Huawei in 2019 and its future development outlook…

NB-IoT Is Poised to Lead the IoT Connection Growth in China

In China, cumulative NB-IoT connections were around 95 million by the end of 2019. The upward trend is poised to accelerate through 2022, the connection of NB-IoT is expected to reach nearly 400 million, growing at ~150% CAGR from 2017 to 2022. NB-IoT will become an integral part of IMT-2020 or 5G, addressing the burgeoning demands for low-speed, low-bandwidth connections in utilities,…

Pixelworks Iris 5: A Tiny Chip That Brings Premium Visual Experiences to Affordable Smartphones

As smartphones become an important part of our daily lives, the environment has got highly competitive as it is driven by a handful of brands with access to the same supply chain. This makes it difficult for smartphone makers to differentiate their devices from others. As a result, they are segmenting their portfolio by having different sub-brands, focusing on unique features for a particular…