Chinese phones fail to impress


When it comes to smartphones, the world is undisputedly owned by Apple and Samsung.

For proof, look no further than the list of Top 10 best-selling smartphones in the world (Q1-Q2 2023).[1] and [2]

You will not see one Chinese brand on the list.

Despite the relative ‘affordability’ of Chinese phones – the global market is dominated by Apple and Samsung.

Before we look at the fail, let’s look at the market landscape as it reveals even more about Apple-Samsung dominance.

For starters, China has the world’s largest smartphone user base “with a staggering 783 million users.” [3]

The smartphone market base is twice as big as India and three times bigger than the USA.

In China, leading Chinese ‘home brands’ like Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, and Lenovo command significant market shares, although this is more driven by affordability.

In China, Apple is the sole major non-Chinese brand, holding around 20% of the 5G smartphone market share.

Mind you, 20% is a sizeable share, given that Apple phones are not cheap. In China, the love affair with Apple is driven by quality and prestige, and the fact that China has 10% of the world’s millionaires. [4]

A preference for quality and status is a big deal in China, as it is throughout the world. It’s just another human quirk, regardless of underlying socio-political differences.

Top 10: world’s biggest smartphone users [5]

  • China: 783 million (total number of smartphone users)
  • India: 375 million
  • United States: 252 million
  • Russian Federation: 92 million
  • Brazil: 87 million
  • Indonesia: 73 million
  • Japan: 70 million
  • Germany: 65 million
  • Mexico: 60 million
  • United Kingdom: 55 million 

Top 10: world’s best-selling phones

The following chart shows the best-selling phones in the world for 2022 plus the first half of 2023.[6] 


To drill down to 2023 in more detail (excluding 2022) the world’s top 10 best-selling phones in the first half of 2023 were:

  • Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max: 26.5 million units sold
  • Apple iPhone Pro: 21 million
  • Apple iPhone 14: 16.5 million
  • Apple iPhone 13: 15.5 million
  • Samsung Galaxy A14: 12.4 million
  • Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: 9.6 million
  • Samsung Galaxy A14 5G: 9 million
  • Samsung Galaxy A54 5G:8.8 million
  • Samsung Galaxy A34 5G: 7.1 million
  • Apple iPhone 11: 6.9 million

It comes with the observation that some of the best-selling models just happen to be the most expensive!

Xiaomi is knocking on the door of the Top 10 for 2023 with its very capable Redmi 12c. However, once again it is more a price-driven popularity and besides, it is a sole glimmer of hope in a very under-whelming result for Chinese mobile phone makers. 

What does this mean for PNG?

Simple. If you can afford it, buy upper range Apple and Samsung phones. The trend is likely to continue into 2024. Take a look at the latest Samsung S24 and you will see that Samsung and Google are in partnership to bring the world a whole new Ai-driven smartphone experience. 2024 promises to be a big year for Samsung. [7]

For those on a limited budget, Chinese brands still have reasonable value for money, but do your homework and shop around. For smartphone buying tips see our blog from November 23.[8]

On a whole other level, the global dominance of Apple and Samsung should mean a diminished ‘street value’ of ‘used’ Chinese-made phones in PNG.

Put simply, if you are buying a 'used' Chinese-made phone ‘on the street’ in PNG, then you shouldn’t be paying much more than K2 for it.


 

 

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