Samsung Electronics maintained its leading position in the smartphone market in the GCC region in the third quarter of this year, according to a new report released earlier today (December 1, 2020). ).
Samsung accounted for 45 percent of the Gulf smartphone market between July and September by number of smartphones. This is 40 percent more than in the previous quarter of this year. This news comes from IDC (International Data Corp), a well-known research analytics company and is reported by the agency YonhapNewsAgency... According to Akash Balachandran, senior analyst at IDC, "With a large portfolio of entry-level and mid-range models, Samsung not only maintained its leading position, but also gained a share that Huawei lost."
Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), ranked second in the region with a market share of 15 percent in units of measure, down from 18 percent in the second quarter of this year. The decline in sales was likely due to the delayed release of the series iPhone 12... Chinese smartphone manufacturers have also followed the Cupertino giant: on Huawei accounted for 13 percent of the market share, and Xiaomi accounted for 12 percent of the Gulf smartphone market.
However, this is changing in value terms, with Apple leading with a market share of 46,3 percent, followed by Samsung with a market share of 30,8 percent in the third quarter of 2020. Notably, the total smartphone market in the Gulf countries also contracted 0,9 percent qoq to 4,16 million units. In value terms, the market fell 11,6 percent from the previous quarter to $ 1,16 billion.
Out of the entire Gulf region, Saudi Arabia accounted for 52,6 percent of all smartphone shipments in the Gulf region in the third quarter of 2020. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) came in second with 24,1 percent of the total market. Ramazan Yavuz, senior research manager at IDC, added that “Brands like Apple and Samsung will also show strong performance in the coming quarters with recently released models in their portfolios. Chinese suppliers aiming to penetrate the region will continue their marketing investments, all leading to a well-performing market in the short to medium term. ”
