According to latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor quarterly tracker program,USA smartphone shipments have begun to saturate as itgrew a modest 2%annually and represent roughly 9 out 10 handsets shipped in the US market in Q2 2014
Some highlights during the quarter for the US smartphone market include:
- Samsung topped both the overall mobile phones and smartphone segments capturing 37% and 36% share in Q2 2014
- The demand for Samsung’s smartphones and especiallyGalaxy S5 was healthy generating 50% more volumesthan what Galaxy S4 witnessed last year
- This was pretty ironic compared to the thesofter and dipping global demandfor its flagshipwhich depicts that Samsung’s marketing has paid off to some extent in the US market
- US market was thus the lone bright spotfor Samsung this quarter as market shares slipped globally and especially across key markets such asIndiaand China
- Samsung performed well in one of its stronghold markets – USA – in what we can call a “Samsung” quarter
- However, the upcoming holiday season quarterQ4 as usual would certainly be an “Apple” quarteras it unveils its new iPhone in September which means Samsung will have to pull off a feat with the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 to maintain share as Galaxy S5 demand begins to taper off
- Apple’siPhone volumes dipped 5%annually in its home market, as more consumers began to hold their purchases for the upcoming iPhone
- LG thethird largesthandset and smartphone supplier saw its smartphone shipmentsgrow a handsome 19% annually
- The gains for LG were primarily in the high- to premium tier with the launch ofLG G3which has been received well and is contributing to LG’s top and bottom lines
- Alcatel One Touch was thefourth largest handsetsupplier tied with ZTE in terms of volumes, whereasZTE jumped up the rankings to become the fourth largest smartphone brand
- Alcatel One Touch was thefastest growing brand因为它从扩大portf中获得olio and channels taking share away from likes of Huawei and Samsung
- Though the lack of LTE or CDMA handsets could slow down Alcatel One Touch’s momentum sequentially
- Microsoft Mobile (Lumia) volumes grew 66% annually and was the second fastest growing brand during the quarter
- But Microsoft Mobile badlyneeds a hero premium deviceagainst likes of Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3 and upcoming Apple iPhone 6 which will drive volume share, revenue share and mindshare
- Overall, Windows Phone share though remains minuscule compared to Android and iOS, Microsoftneed more OEMs and carriers launching Windows Phonebased smartphones in US
- HTC’s shipments grewa healthy 25% annuallyabove market average in its flagship HTC One (M8) launch quarter but captured a modest 4% share
- However, sell-through for HTC has continued to weaken since late May and the Taiwanese vendor’s share will continue to slide in coming months
Apple & Samsung have combined controlled two-thirds of the US smartphone market for since last 10 quarters and its turning into azero-sum game.Overall, the competitive landscape in US market is nowa three pronged racebetween Apple, Samsung and other players combined each owning roughly a third of the market. But during the respective launch quarters of Samsung & Apple we are witnessing the crest and troughs for both the smartphone giants capturing share from each other and emerge as leaders respectively. However, Samsung has been at advantage withstaggered two flagship launches(e.g Galaxy S in March & Galaxy Note in September) during the year helping it to maintain healthy share. Butit could be difficult for Samsung if Apple replicates the similar strategylaunching multiple versions of iPhones (4.7″ & 5.5″ versions) twice a year e.g. in Q3 (Sep) & Q1 (Mar) timeframes respectively.