While the US Smartphone Market was Down by 6% YoY in Q4 2020, Apple and Samsung bucked the Trend
Last week Patently Apple posted a report titled "While China’s Smartphone Market Declined Sharply in 2020, Apple bucked the Trend" Today the U.S. market is shown to have dropped by 6% in Q4 2020 with Apple and Samsung bucking the trend.
According to a new Counterpoint report, "The US smartphone market saw a 6% YoY decline in sales in Q4 2020 as COVID-19 continued to impact the economy. Apple and Samsung were the only OEMs to see positive growth in the quarter, thanks to new launches and a strong demand for premium devices during the holiday season. Despite the overall negative growth, there is good momentum going into 2021. Just as in Q3 2020, the market remained on the road to recovery in Q4.
QoQ growth was at 24% due to record high iPhone sales and a strong demand for Samsung Galaxy devices. Apple grew the strongest at 14% YoY despite a delayed iPhone 12 launch while Samsung slightly gained 5% YoY.
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Statement by Research Analyst Maurice Klaehne: "We did see two bright spots in the market. Apple had a very strong YoY growth period, even with a delayed and staggered iPhone 12 launch. Demand for new iPhones outpaced supply in many cases as carriers had good promotional offers for both switchers and upgraders, something that is not as frequent. AT&T’s upgrade offers allowed customers to trade in older devices for discounts of up to $799, effectively making the iPhone 12 a free device with a qualifying unlimited plan and trade-in. Initial wait times for the Pro models, especially the iPhone 12 Pro Max, spanned close to three weeks. Given this strong demand for new iPhones and supply shortages in Q4 2020, we expect sales to spill over into Q1 2021.”
To learn more about the negative performance of Apple's competiton, read the full Counterpoint report.
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