Top

US Smartphone Sales Remain Flat YoY in Q4 2021 Due to Shortages of Premium Flagships

Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Toronto, London, New Delhi, Montreal, Denver, Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul – January 28, 2022

US smartphone sales remained flat YoY in Q4 2021 as premium flagship devices were in short supply during the holiday season, according to Counterpoint Research’s latest data from its US Monthly Smartphone Channel Share Tracker. Strong holiday promotions in carrier channels, backorders due to supply constraints, delayed launches and in-store restrictions due to COVID-19 remained key highlights of the quarter.

Counterpoint Research US Smartphone Market Share Q4 2021Commenting on the market performance, Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said, “The US smartphone market was very competitive in Q4 2021. Carriers were aggressive with promotions to retain their smartphone bases. This contributed to continued record or near-record low smartphone churn among the major carriers. Specific to hardware sales, T-Mobile was the largest smartphone channel in the US and grew modestly YoY. Verizon was the second largest smartphone channel and was flat YoY. AT&T was the third largest channel and its smartphone volumes fell just over 4% YoY. The high promotion levels are likely to continue in 2022 and should keep demand for devices elevated, while headwinds are more likely to come from the supply side.”

Commenting on the shortages, Senior Analyst Hanish Bhatia said, “Carriers remained under pressure to secure smartphone supply, but regional carriers struggled the most, especially in the case of flagship devices. Overall, inventory remained at record low levels in Q4 2021. Android inventory improved on QoQ basis except for certain flagship devices. Apple inventory remained the leanest but managed to fulfill higher demand. The shortages also helped established OEMs, which have stronger relationships with suppliers, while smaller OEMs faced tough times.”

Carrier whitelabeled devices also had an impressive quarter, accounting for 8% of the total smartphones in the sub-$250 price band. AT&T remained the single largest white-label device brand, while T-Mobile’s REVVL-branded devices faced shortages during the fourth quarter. Visible and Boost Mobile also launched their first ever white-label devices — Visible Midnight and Boost Celero 5G. (See: Celero 5G emerges as best-selling device at Boost in December 2021).

Commenting on the prepaid market expectations, Research Analyst Matthew Orf said, “OEMs targeting the low-end and mid-range Android market have an opportunity to register substantial growth in 2022. 3G sunsets will force carriers to move subscribers onto new LTE and 5G devices. Dish and Verizon will also look to migrate newly acquired prepaid users to carrier partners or their own networks. Verizon’s acquisition of Tracfone and Dish’s acquisition of Gen Mobile, Republic Wireless and Ting will increase competition in national retail channels. This could help create new demand in the sub-$250 price band.”

Key OEM Highlights:

  • Apple sales grew 17% QoQ with demand for the iPhone 13 series outpacing supply, especially for the Pro series models. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max were on backorder much of December, with wait times lasting up to six weeks.
  • Samsung sales grew 11% YoY. Several factors held back the brand’s sales, including shortages of the Galaxy S21 series devices and the delayed launch of the Galaxy S21 Fan Edition. But a higher mix of the A series and strong performance of foldables helped Samsung register YoY growth. The Galaxy A12 became the best-selling Android device in 2021.
  • Motorola sold the largest number of smartphones in the US market in its history, beating its Q4 2019 performance. The brand benefitted from the demise of LG and its strong lineup of affordable devices. The Moto G Pure, Motorola’s first MediaTek-powered device in the US, was among the top three best-selling devices in the quarter.
  • OnePlus sales were up 524% YoY as its Nord series devices continued to see success at T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile and received an added boost from Metro by T-Mobile and T-Mobile’s entry into over 2,000 Walmart locations.
  • Google grew its sales 56% YoY with the launch of its redesigned Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, featuring Google’s own silicon.
  • Nokia HMD registered YoY gains with its first carrier-ranged device for T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile channels.
  • Alcatel-TCL continued to have a strong grip on national retail channels. New device launches in T-Mobile, Tracfone and the first carrier-ranged device in Boost Mobile further strengthened its position among top Android OEMs.

Component shortages, ongoing inflation and the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 along the supply chain will continue to pose challenges to the US smartphone market in early 2022. Inflation and component shortages will impact the low end of the market more significantly as OEMs prioritize the production of high-end devices.

Background

Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.

Analyst Contacts:

Matthew Orf

 

Maurice Klaehne
 

Jeff Fieldhack
 

Hanish Bhatia

Follow Counterpoint Research

Related Posts

Counterpoint research is a young and fast growing research firm covering analysis of the tech industry. Coverage areas are connected devices, digital consumer goods, software & applications and other adjacent topics. We provide syndicated research reports as well as tailored. Our seminars and workshops for companies and institutions are popular and available on demand. Consulting and customized work on the above topics is provided for high precision projects.

Term of Use and Privacy Policy

Counterpoint Technology Market Research Limited

Registration

In order to access Counterpoint Technology Market Research Limited (Company or We hereafter) Web sites, you may be asked to complete a registration form. You are required to provide contact information which is used to enhance the user experience and determine whether you are a paid subscriber or not.
Personal Information When you register on we ask you for personal information. We use this information to provide you with the best advice and highest-quality service as well as with offers that we think are relevant to you. We may also contact you regarding a Web site problem or other customer service-related issues. We do not sell, share or rent personal information about you collected on Company Web sites.

How to unsubscribe and Termination

You may request to terminate your account or unsubscribe to any email subscriptions or mailing lists at any time. In accessing and using this Website, User agrees to comply with all applicable laws and agrees not to take any action that would compromise the security or viability of this Website. The Company may terminate User’s access to this Website at any time for any reason. The terms hereunder regarding Accuracy of Information and Third Party Rights shall survive termination.

Website Content and Copyright

This Website is the property of Counterpoint and is protected by international copyright law and conventions. We grant users the right to access and use the Website, so long as such use is for internal information purposes, and User does not alter, copy, disseminate, redistribute or republish any content or feature of this Website. User acknowledges that access to and use of this Website is subject to these TERMS OF USE and any expanded access or use must be approved in writing by the Company.
– Passwords are for user’s individual use
– Passwords may not be shared with others
– Users may not store documents in shared folders.
– Users may not redistribute documents to non-users unless otherwise stated in their contract terms.

Changes or Updates to the Website

The Company reserves the right to change, update or discontinue any aspect of this Website at any time without notice. Your continued use of the Website after any such change constitutes your agreement to these TERMS OF USE, as modified.
Accuracy of Information: While the information contained on this Website has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, We disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. User assumes sole responsibility for the use it makes of this Website to achieve his/her intended results.

Third Party Links: This Website may contain links to other third party websites, which are provided as additional resources for the convenience of Users. We do not endorse, sponsor or accept any responsibility for these third party websites, User agrees to direct any concerns relating to these third party websites to the relevant website administrator.

Cookies and Tracking

We may monitor how you use our Web sites. It is used solely for purposes of enabling us to provide you with a personalized Web site experience.
This data may also be used in the aggregate, to identify appropriate product offerings and subscription plans.
Cookies may be set in order to identify you and determine your access privileges. Cookies are simply identifiers. You have the ability to delete cookie files from your hard disk drive.