Samsung’s smartphone recaptures global No. 1… ‘Galaxy S21’ cost-performance strategy worked

Input 2021.04.22 10:34

Sold 7 million Samsung smartphones in the first quarter…23% share
Cost performance Galaxy S21·Galaxy A twin strategy

Samsung Electronics (005930)In the first quarter of this year, surpassing Apple with the’Galaxy S21′ series and recaptured the No. 1 global smartphone market. In the fourth quarter of last year, 20% of its market share collapsed, giving Apple the No. 1 spot, and it found its place in the first quarter. While Samsung Electronics is expected to continue robust in the second quarter, it is noteworthy whether it will be able to occupy the top spot in the second half of the year when the new Apple iPhone is released.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA) on the 22nd, Samsung Electronics’ global smartphone shipments in the first quarter were 77 million units, up 32% compared to 58 million units in the same period last year. The market share was 23%, surpassing Apple (17% / 57,000 units) and Xiaomi (15% / 400,000 units).

With the popularity of the first 5G (5th generation mobile communication) iPhone 12 in the fourth quarter of last year, Apple surpassed Samsung Electronics and took the top spot in the global smartphone market. It recorded 21% of the market share at the time, and it was the first to rise to the top again after taking the lead in 2016 due to the reflex effect of the’Galaxy Note 7’battery fire accident.

In particular, the iPhone 12 achieved great results even though it was released a month later than usual because of the difficulty in procuring parts due to Corona 19. On an annual basis, Apple surpassed Huawei, which is subject to US sanctions, to rank second and pursued Samsung Electronics to the bottom of the chin.

With Apple’s offensive, Samsung Electronics began to prepare a response. It lowered the factory price of the flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21, and set a release schedule a month earlier than before, putting a check on the market share. In fact, Samsung Electronics released the basic Galaxy S21 for less than 1 million won for the first time as a flagship model with 5G applied.

The effectiveness was proven by sales volume. The domestic sales of the Galaxy S21 series exceeded 1 million units in 57 days of launch as of last month. This is about a month earlier than the previous Galaxy S20. In the U.S. market, sales for four weeks after its launch have exceeded three times that of its predecessor.

It is evaluated that the strategy to strengthen the lineup of the Galaxy A series, which is a mid- to low-end smartphone, was also timely. For the first time ever, we even opened an unpack (public event) for the Galaxy A series last month.

The key to the future is whether the momentum of Samsung Electronics can continue until the second half of this year. Galaxy Note, the flagship model that supported its market share in the second half of each year, does not exist this year. Only foldable phones and low-priced phones with insufficient shipments should prevent the offensive of competitors.

According to overseas media reports, Apple is planning to release the iPhone 13 (tentative name) this year in September. The watch is one month ahead of the iPhone 12 released in October last year, returning to the time when new products were released every year. Chinese companies such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which replace Huawei’s missing position, are also expected to further aggressively target overseas markets. In particular, Xiaomi, which is evaluated for its good marketability for its price, increased its sales in overseas markets last year by 34.1% compared to the previous year, accounting for 49.8% of total sales.

An industry insider said, “How popular the foldable phones will be in the second half of this year is expected to determine the performance of Samsung smartphones this year.”