China’s top phone makers embrace flashy features as they challenge Apple and Samsung for premium-smartphone dominance
Looks like an iPad… actually a cellphone. China’s top phone manufacturers are upping their game as they fight for a bigger share of the $450B industry. Honor — formerly a Huawei subsidiary — rolled out its $1,700 foldable Magic Vs phone onto the global stage this week (it was previously available in China). And rival Xiaomi, the world’s third-biggest smartphone seller, showed off its nearly $1,400 13 Pro, which sports super-fast charging and a telephoto camera.
- Xiaomi released its first phone in 2011 and it now makes up about 13% of the entire smartphone market (up from 2% in 2017).
- Still: Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy phones made up an overwhelming 92% of the high-end-smartphone market last year.
Battle of the pros… China-based Huawei was the world’s #1 smartphone seller as recently as 2020. But the effects of US sanctions, issued in 2019, knocked its 2021 sales down by almost a third. Enter Apple, which ramped up its must-have phone features like film-worthy camera tech and AirDrop file sharing to lure younger consumers and fetch premium prices abroad. So far it’s worked: Apple’s worldwide share of high-end phones (think $800+) grew to 76% last year, up from 65% in 2018.
Dress for the customers you want… Xiamoi and Honor want a slice of Apple and Samsung's massive market share. The Chinese manufacturers are trying to court premium shoppers with flashy features, but that may only get them in the door. There's a lot at stake: over the next five years, $600+ smartphones are forecast to make up a fifth of all smartphone sales growth.