A new analytical report published this morning points to China’s premium smartphone market ($400 and above wholesale price) edged upwards. More importantly, Research Analyst Mengmeng Zhang stated that "Apple did well in the $1,000 and above segment, recording 147% YoY increase.

(Click on image to Greatly Enlarge)

The Counterpoint report further noted that "The top six OEMs took 95% of the premium segment in Q2 2022. vivo’s unit sales grew 91% YoY, displacing Huawei to take the second spot in China’s premium segment for the first time ever.

Commenting on vivo’s performance, Senior Analyst Ivan Lam said, 'Apple and Huawei have been competing for the first and second spots for long. But now other major Chinese OEMs have started targeting the premium segment.

(Click on image to Greatly Enlarge)

Commenting on the ongoing trends in the premium segment, Senior Analyst Varun Mishra said, 'Leading Chinese OEMs have been actively focusing on the premium segment with concrete strategies, including bringing foldable flagship models customized for Chinese consumers and partnering with traditional camera giants such as Leica, Zeiss and Hasselblad. We expect the competition in this segment to intensify going forward. At the same time, Samsung is capturing a higher share in this segment due to its foldables line-up, which could result in a resurgence for the South Korean vendor.'" For more details, review the full Counterpoint report.

A move with a premium foldable iPhone would be the best way to ensure that there isn't a resurgence for Samsung in China. Though at the moment, only 9 million foldable smartphone have been sold globally among all participating OEMs, with only a tepid target of 26 million by the end of 2023.

It's unknown at what point Apple could be lured into launching a foldable iPhone to fend off competitors or if they'll skip this segment entirely and shoot for a foldable iPad which could have a bigger impact in the market.

Though with Samsung's goal of having half of their premium smartphones being foldables by 2025, it's certainly a market Apple will be keeping on eye on, to be sure.