It is expected that Samsung Electronics will unveil the Galaxy S21 in January next year, opening the first smartphone market in the new year. Considering that the Galaxy S series was released in February and March every year, the release in January is unusual. With the iPhone 12 at the forefront, Apple and Huawei, which has been stagnant by strong sanctions from the United States, are showing their will to further solidify the number 1 global smartphone sales.
◇ Gal S21, released early this year in time for CES 2021
According to the industry, Samsung Electronics is expected to hold an online new product disclosure event on January 14 next year and unveil the Galaxy S21 series. In the meantime, the Galaxy S series was first released in mid-February, and followed by product release in March. The release of this new product is about a month earlier than usual. If the unpack was held in the first half of the year at the same time as the’Mobile World Congress (MWC)’, the world’s largest mobile exhibition in February every year, this year’s unpack is the last day of’CES 2021′, the world’s largest home appliance and IT (information technology) exhibition.
As for Samsung Electronics to release a new Galaxy product so quickly, the industry interprets it as a way to check the iPhone 12. As the iPhone 12 series, which Apple introduced in October this year, gained high popularity around the world, he felt a sense of crisis and accelerated the new release schedule. It is interpreted as a strategy to prevent the decline in market share by reducing the gap in new works. Related Article☞ Apple’s first 5G phone’iPhone 12’… Appearance regresses in the past
According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Samsung Electronics maintained the No. 1 market share in the global smartphone market as of October. Apple ranked second with 14%, up 4 percentage points from the previous month thanks to the iPhone 12 effect. In general, when a new iPhone is released, Samsung Electronics’ market share drops by about 2 to 3 percentage points, but this time, it is only 1%, and the research firm analyzed that it made good progress.
However, considering that Apple released the iPhone 12 in mid-October (14th), the interpretation is different. The official sale of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro began on the 23rd of the same month in the first launch countries such as the United States. Even the iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max models started officially on November 13, and were not reflected in the October statistics.
Since the iPhone 12 only recorded sales for two weeks at the most, the market share of Samsung Electronics has fallen less, and some of the industry interprets that it is difficult to say that it has maintained an edge in the market competition.
By detailed model, Apple’s competitive advantage is revealed everywhere. In particular, iPhone 12 outpaced Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 20 series in the global 5G mobile communication (5G) smartphone market two weeks after its launch.
According to the Market Pulse report released by Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 12 ranked first in the global 5G phone market in October this year with 16% market share. The second place was also the iPhone 12 Pro, which recorded 8% of the market share. Together, these two represent 24% of all 5G phone sales. Considering that both products were sold for two weeks, we can guess the market dominance in late October.
In contrast, Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G, which occupied the first place with 5% of the 5G market share in September, fell to the third place with its share of 4%. The Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy S20 Plus 5G models ranked 8th and 9th with 2% share respectively. This means that even if all of the Samsung Electronics smartphone models, which are among the top 10 in the 5G market, were sold as much as one second-placed iPhone 12 Pro model.
Additional results may come out from December, when iPhone 12 sales are fully reflected. Counterpoint Research predicts that the demand for the iPhone 12 series will be particularly strong at the end of the year and will continue until early next year. Barun Mishira, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, predicted, “The iPhone 12 series will show high sales until early next year as some sales of the iPhone 12 series are delayed this year, and some sales will be pushed through January.
◇ All new mid- and low-priced phones
Samsung’s response does not stop at the early release of the Galaxy S21. Samsung Electronics plans to pour out a variety of mid- and low-priced 5G products from early next year. In the industry, 5G mid-range phones such as the Galaxy A32, Galaxy A52, and Galaxy A72 will be released in the first half of next year, and the Galaxy A22 will be released in the second half. This year, if only the Galaxy A51 or higher-level models supported 5G, then next year, it will further expand 5G support even for low-cost models with lower specifications.
Recently, in a newsroom article, Noh Tae-moon, head of Samsung Electronics’ wireless business division, said, “We will do our best to enable more customers to enjoy the latest mobile experience without restrictions according to their needs.” In order to provide the product, we will present a diverse portfolio of products with strong performance in 2021.”
This too is trying to keep the market share. This is because the biggest power that Samsung was able to maintain the No. 1 market share in the global smartphone market this year was in mid- and low-priced phones. Park Jin-seok, a researcher at Counterpoint Research, analyzed that “One of the reasons Samsung Electronics was able to maintain its market share even with the Apple iPhone 12 release is due to the growth of emerging markets.” It is said that Samsung Electronics was able to gain an edge because it worked hard to launch mid-to-low-priced phones in response to emerging markets such as India, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
Samsung Electronics’ diversification of low- and mid-priced phones is also a strategy to occupy the void of Huawei, whose smartphone market share is plummeting due to conflict with the US. According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei, which ranked first in the global market with a market share of 21% in April, fell sharply for six months due to tightening US sanctions. In October, the market share fell to 4th with 11%.
Hana Financial Investment Research Institute Kim Rok-ho said, “One of the biggest issues in the smartphone industry next year is how much of Huawei’s shipment decline will be absorbed by which companies. Next year, Huawei’s non-Huawei companies will reach 140 million global units and 95 million units in China. It will be divided.”
It also shows a willingness to revive the earnings of the IM (IT, mobile) division, which will be somewhat slower in the fourth quarter of this year. In the third quarter of last year, Samsung Electronics’ IM division recorded an operating profit of KRW 4.5 trillion, up 120% from the previous quarter and 52.4% from the same period last year due to the launch of flagships such as the Galaxy Note 20 and Z Fold 2. However, operating profit is expected to drop to 3 trillion won in 4Q due to the absence of new titles. Related Article☞ Wings: Samsung Electronics, Apple’s breathtaking… ‘Fire Fight’ notice at the end of the year
An industry insider said, “In order for Samsung Electronics to continue its growth in the global market this year, it is inevitable that a strategy that can efficiently target emerging markets through diversification of low- and mid-priced phones as well as securing competitiveness of flagship phones is inevitable.” The situation response is also revealed in the product launch plan.”