Apple iPhone takes 41% of smartphone revenue in 2022

The premium smartphone segment accounted for an astonishingly high 55% of global smartphone revenue – and Apple took 75% of that

Apple took a new record 75% of the market for high-end smartphones in 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. The statistic is testament to how the company has driven consumers toward purchasing iPhone Pro models for their advanced features. The same researchers recently said that eight out of ten of the world’s best-selling phones are iPhones.

Market down, Apple up

What makes this even more significant is that while the overall smartphone market shrank 12% in the period, sales of premium devices increased 1%. That means sales in the premium smartphone segment accounted for an astonishingly high 55% of global smartphone revenue – and Apple took 75% of that.

This isn’t the first time iPhone has called in such a big chunk of smartphone revenues, but it still means that while Apple may not have sold the most phones in some senses, those it did shift gave it 41.25% of global smartphone sales revenue.

That’s right. Apple grabbed 40-cents for every dollar generated across the smartphone industry.

And the company then generates additional user revenue with accessories and services.

“For Apple, the growth in mature markets came from the upgrades in its installed base. The stickiness of the iOS ecosystem with multiple devices and services is high. If an iPhone user also owns an Apple Watch or Mac, the individual’s next smartphone upgrade will likely be another iPhone. Also, because of Apple’s aspirational brand value and step-by-step expansion, its sales have been growing in emerging economies as well. Android’s loss of share to iOS in the premium segment is also one of the reasons for Google’s smartphone push,” said Counterpoint analyst, Varun Mishra.

Apple drives the industry

Apple’s success in upselling customers in part shows that we are prepared to invest quite deeply in the smart devices we use most each day.

The data also shows that affluent customers continue to purchase devices. All in all, the impact is that the $1,000 and higher segment of phones grew 38% in 2022, making it the fastest growing segment in the industry. Which suggests Apple is the growth driver for the industry.

That shows, Apple grew 6% in the premium segment to take 75% of it. It would have achieved an even bigger set of numbers but for the Covid related production hit it took in Q4. Second place Samsung lost 5%, while most other brands saw decline.

Android users are switching

Another big thing is that Android users are switching to iOS, at least in the premium market. Apple now holds 75% of that market in contrast to Android’s 23%, which is the lowest share of that segment ever achieved by Google’s OS.

Meanwhile, in India

Counterpoint’s data marries tightly with recent research from IDC. IDC says Apple pushed smartphone average sales prices up to a record $224 in India. The company sold a record 6.7 million devices in India, up from 4.8 million in 2021 with an ASP of Rs 80,000 (c$970/unit). Samsung sold far more devices – 26.1 million, but generated a small ASP of just Rs 28,000 (c$350/unit).

This is good news for Apple, but the shift to premium devices also masks that many low income consumers are really struggling with living costs in nations across the world. “There is genuine stress on the incomes in the bottom-of-the-pyramid, leading to less demand,” IDC associate VP, Navkender Singh said.

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