Number of cell phone users in the world. How much does the most expensive phone in the world cost? Add your price to the Comment database. The most expensive phones in the world

Today, mobile phones are no longer a luxury. However, there are exclusive mobile phones that cannot be bought in an ordinary store. cellular communication. Their price can exceed several million rubles, sometimes quite significantly. Some of them are presented in a single copy or released as part of a very limited series. We will not dwell in detail on technical specifications these models, because their price does not depend at all on the hardware. So what are they, the most expensive phones in the world, and what are they famous for?

Top 10 most expensive phones in the world

10. Nokia Supreme

Price: $170,000

Jeweler Stuart Hughes, who has already been featured in the current article, got to the old Nokia 8800 Arte, decorating it with 1225 diamonds (total weight 12.5 carats), spending 83 grams of platinum, created a Nokia Supreme, worth 100 thousand pounds sterling, that is, about $170 thousand. The work took 2 months, a total of 3 copies were made. There is no point in noting the functionality of the 2007 model - it simply does not exist. This is perhaps the most expensive device for cracking nuts. 11. Nokia 8800 Arte Pink Diamonds Price: $134,000 Well, the cheapest among the most expensive phones is the Nokia 8800 Arte Pink Diamonds. It, like the previous one, was made by designer and jeweler Peter Alloyson from gold decorated with white and pink diamonds weighing 21 carats.

The phone is also equipped with a 3.15 megapixel camera. Nokia price 8800 Arte Pink Diamonds is $134,000.

9. Black Diamond VIPN Smartphone

Price: $300,000

The corporation was able to break into the ranking of the most expensive phones Sony Ericsson with his Black Diamond for $300 thousand. Designer Jaren Go decorated the back of the phone with diamonds. The only feature of this handset is OLED technology and a transparent surface, which create the effect of an infinite screen. Only 5 copies of these were collected.

8. Vertu Boucheron Cobra

Price: $310,000

The appearance of the Vertu Cobra may seem too pretentious to many. And its design probably doesn’t have the greatest effect on ease of use. in the best possible way. However, for 2016 this is the most expensive model Vertu. The body of the snake is made of gold (pink, yellow and white are available to choose from) interspersed with colored precious stones(rubies or sapphires in total 438 pieces), the eyes of the snake are made of emeralds. The phone is also decorated with two huge diamonds. Only 8 copies of the “Cobra” saw the light of day.

7. Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot

Price: $1,000,000

This phone is valued at $1 million. FXClearing experts note that the price justifies the content. The case is made of gold and decorated with rare black diamonds weighing 45.5 carats. Rear end The phone is made of African ebony, which is over 200 years old. And the keys are made of sapphires.

6. Diamond Crypto Smartphone

Price: $1,300,000

Sixth place went to Diamond Crypto Smartphone, assembled by Russian company. Peter Aloysson had a hand in the design, so the phone is strewn with diamonds: 50 white and 10 blue. The case is cast from platinum, the platinum buttons are engraved. The smartphone has a function called data transmission encryption. In 2016, the luxurious trinket cost 1.3 million US dollars.

5. iPhone 3G King's button

Price: $2,410,000

Jeweler Peter Aloysson from Austria was directly involved in the creation of the Kings Button model. The main decoration of the smartphone is a large diamond weighing 6 carats, located on the control key. 138 diamonds, white, yellow and rose gold turned the iPhone 3G into the most expensive phone of 2017. The cost of the unique device is 2.4 million dollars.

4. Supreme Goldstriker iPhone 3G

Price: $3,200,000

The next most expensive phone, costing $3.2 million, was the same iPhone from the same Stuart Hughes, also for a wealthy Australian – 3GS Supreme. It was collected over 10 months from 271 grams of gold, 136 diamonds from the high class with a total weight of 70 carats, and a diamond of 7.1 carats on the navigation

button. To be fair, it should be said that in terms of functionality, this fantastic device is no different from the serial one. iPhone versions The 3GS costs less than $1 thousand and is based solely on the price of the body.

3. iPhone 4 Diamond Rose

Price: $8,000,000

In 2010, jeweler Stuart Hughes, commissioned by the Australian football team owner Tony Sage, created the most expensive phone in the world - Diamond Rose Edition. The case of this iPhone is decorated with more than 500 diamonds. The back panel is made of gold, and 53 diamonds were used to create the gnawed apple. Return button home page made of a 7.4-carat pink diamond with the possibility of replacing it with an 8-carat copy. This piece of jewelry exists in two copies. They also came up with an equally pretentious case made of pink granite weighing 7 kg for the phone. The inside of the case is lined with nubuck for softness. The accessory is included in the price of the phone.

2. iPhone 5 Diamond Black

Price: $15,300,000

Like the previous pink iPhone, this model was created by Liverpool jeweler Stuart Hughes. The customer is a Chinese businessman who wishes to remain anonymous. The iPhone case is made of 24-karat yellow gold, 600 small stones were used to decorate the ends, and another 53 were spent on the logo. The screen is protected by an impenetrable sapphire crystal, and the central button is decorated with a rare 26-carat black diamond. He alone cost the jeweler about $12 million.

1. Falcon SuperNova Pink Diamond iPhone 6

Price: $95,500,000

1st place – Falcon SuperNova Pink Diamond iPhone 6 The brand of exclusive mobile phones Falcon offers the well-known iPhone in a new image. The case of this fabulously expensive “six” is plated with 18-karat yellow gold, and a huge pink diamond is built into the back cover, under the Apple logo. The version with a blue diamond will cost the buyer twice as much - only 48 and a half million dollars. There are also options in platinum and rose gold. In addition to the arsenal of the most expensive items for everyday use, the manufacturer offers headphones for $300,000 - you can choose gold or platinum.

The most expensive serial phones in the world

Previous models were unique not only in materials and price, but also in quantity. Each phone was produced in a single copy or in quantities of no more than 5-10 pieces. However, there are several companies that deal serial production luxury phones that only very wealthy people can afford.

Vertu

The British company Vertu, created as a subsidiary of the Finnish Nokia, has been producing luxury phones since 1998. As a rule, it is used for the manufacture of mobile devices gold, platinum, titanium alloy And gems.

Among the serial phones of this brand in 2017, we can highlight models of the series Vertu Diamond Collection. The price of the most expensive mobile phone in the collection is about $407,500. The models are made of 18-carat yellow or white gold and are completely encrusted with diamonds, the number of which can reach several hundred pieces. For example, the Signature with Gold Pave model contains 943 diamonds.

But tell me, does it make sense to buy the most expensive mobile phone in the world, despite the fact that its technical characteristics will not differ in any way from regular smartphones mid price category? It is also doubtful that anyone will repair the most expensive phone in the world under warranty if it breaks, and how difficult it will be to find the missing part, especially if it is a 26-carat black gold diamond. But the most dangerous thing is that once robbers see photos of the most expensive phone, they will immediately start hunting for it, because a $100,000 phone is a fortune.

Comparing the expensive Vertu and the budget Fly

If you think about it, you will immediately come to the conclusion that viewing a video or photo through sapphire glass and glass, say, Gorilla Glass, will be exactly the same.

Let's say the most good phone any of the popular brands, for example, the Fly brand, are head and shoulders above the same Vertu in terms of characteristics.

What characteristics does a Vertu phone have for 300 thousand rubles?

This is a 4 core processor
Camera 13MP
4.7" screen
And also pre-installed outdated Android 4.0 OS.

What can the same company Fly offer? For example, consider the one released in May 2017 Fly Cirrus 13 smartphone.

In the lung metal case houses a powerful 4-core processor at 1.5 GHz
High quality bright IPS display with a diagonal of 5 inches and FullHD resolution
Excellent 13 megapixel camera
Capacious lithium-polymer battery 2400 mAh.
In addition, the smartphone runs on the latest Android 7 Nougat OS.

Moreover, its cost is only 8,990 rubles.

As you can see, there is no point in buying the most expensive phone in the world in 2017, given that in this case you will get a beautiful toy with not the highest quality and power. What you need to do is to buy a smartphone with the latest specifications at a very affordable price. Also, Fly provides a two-year warranty on all its products, which will undoubtedly tip the scales in favor of the purchase mobile device from this brand.

Today, mobile phones are no longer a luxury. Almost every Russian has a portable communication device, regardless of age and financial status. The range of mobile phones is constantly updated, and the price range for new products is unusually wide: from several hundred rubles to a couple of thousand dollars.

However, there are exclusive mobile phones that cannot be bought in an ordinary mobile phone store. Their price can exceed several million rubles, sometimes quite significantly. Some of them are presented in a single copy or released as part of a very limited series. We will not dwell in detail on the technical characteristics of these models, because their price does not depend at all on the hardware. So what are they, the most expensive phones in the world, and what are they famous for?

The most expensive phones in the world

Vertu Signature Diamond

Price: $88,000

This feature phone does not boast a widescreen screen or an innovative processor. Its price (which, according to 2016 data, fluctuated around 620 thousand rubles) is based on the authority of the Vertu brand, which has long established itself as a manufacturer of luxury phones, as well as on the cost of a case made of precious metals inlaid with diamonds. Available metals: platinum, white, rose or yellow gold. The color of diamonds can also vary; The most popular models are those with black and pink gems. The weight of such a phone is about 200 grams.

Black Diamond VIPN Smartphone

Price: $300,000

Compared to the rest of the participants in our rating, this phone looks quite modest and minimalist stylish. The result of a collaboration between Sony Ericsson and eccentric Singaporean designer Jaren Goh stands out with its unusual curved shape, designed to make it easier to store the smartphone in your pocket. The keyboard is protected by polycarbonate mirror glass. The price of the model is due to two small black diamonds built into the case: one on the front, in the control joystick, the second on the back.

Vertu Boucheron Cobra

Price: $310,000

The appearance of the Vertu Cobra may seem too pretentious to many. And its design probably doesn’t have the best effect on ease of use. However, for 2016 this is the most expensive Vertu model. The body of the snake is made of gold (pink, yellow and white are available to choose from) interspersed with colored precious stones (rubies or sapphires with a total of 438 pieces), the eyes of the snake are made of emeralds. The phone is also decorated with two huge diamonds. Only 8 copies of the “Cobra” saw the light of day.

Gresso Luxor Las Vegas Jackpot

Price: $1,000,000

Typically, the price of phones from the Gresso brand ranges around 5 thousand dollars. But this little masterpiece, whose appearance is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian motifs, was put up for sale for a million. The manufacturer realized that a gold case and ordinary diamonds would no longer surprise the sophisticated public, and therefore encrusted it with black diamonds that are practically not found in nature. The back panel is made from 200 year old black ebony. Each key is a microscopic sapphire, polished using laser technologies. The model is surprisingly thin (for push-button telephone) – only 12 millimeters.

Diamond Crypto Smartphone

Price: $1,300,000

Ancort's brainchild stands out from other unreasonably expensive smartphones - it can be truly useful. It has a built-in powerful cryptoprocessor TMS 320 VC 5416, which provides data encryption using a 256-bit key. All calls, SMS and Internet traffic, as well as files stored in the smartphone’s memory, are reliably protected from outsiders. In addition, the crypto smartphone case is made of 950-carat platinum, decorated with blue and white diamonds (50 pieces in total), and has ebony wood inserts on the sides.

Gold Vish Le Million

Price: $1,300,000

This very original mobile phone is not only terribly expensive. Even if an ordinary buyer found somewhere around one and a half million dollars, the design of this tube would hardly be to his liking. Although the manufacturer claims that thanks to its boomerang-like shape, GoldVish Le Million fits very comfortably in the hand. The case is made entirely of platinum, white, yellow or rose gold (user's choice), completely studded with WS-1 diamonds, and genuine crocodile leather inserts protect back panel phone from scratches.

iPhone 3G King's button

Price: $2,410,000

5th place – iPhone 3G King's button

Australian jeweler Petea Aloysson has been creating luxury mobile phones since 1998. Having collected all the experience accumulated over 20 years, in 2009 he released an iPhone, which instantly attracted attention due to the huge diamond built into it. Home button. The screen is framed by tiny stones with a total of 138 pieces, and the case is made of an alloy of pink, white and yellow gold.

Supreme Goldstriker iPhone 3G

Price: $3,200,000

This smartphone was released in 2009. It is distinguished by a case made of solid 22-karat gold, 136 diamonds inlaid into a frame around the screen and a huge gem proudly displaying instead of a single button. A limited edition of this model was sold in a seven-kilogram granite package, trimmed with natural fine-haired leather.

iPhone 4 Diamond Rose

Price: $8,000,000

Although times fourth iPhone have long sunk into oblivion, this model, released in two copies, still occupies the top line of the ranking of the most expensive phones in the world. Outwardly he is exact copy his commoner brother, with the exception of 500 exquisitely cut diamonds totaling over 100 carats. 53 diamonds were used to cover the Apple logo; the rest adorn the sides of the smartphone. The largest of them, a pink diamond weighing 7.4 carats, adorns the central Home button. Meanwhile, pink diamonds are considered one of the most expensive stones in the world. For obvious reasons, the buyers of the diamond iPhone did not disclose their names.

iPhone 5 Diamond Black

Price: $15,300,000

The most expensive mobile phone in the world

Falcon SuperNova Pink Diamond iPhone 6

Price: $95,500,000

The exclusive mobile phone brand Falcon offers the well-known iPhone in a new image. The case of this fabulously expensive “six” is plated with 18-karat yellow gold, and a huge pink diamond is built into the back cover, under the Apple logo. The version with a blue diamond will cost the buyer twice as much - only 48 and a half million dollars. There are also platinum and rose gold options. In addition to the arsenal of the most expensive items for everyday use, the manufacturer offers headphones for $300,000 - you can choose gold or platinum.
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Smartphone market 2018: market leaders and statistics of smartphone sales in the world based on the results of the second quarter. Samsung is still ahead, but Apple is going down.

Every week on our website there are materials dedicated to the release of new products on the smartphone market. Sooner or later, the reader has a question: what was or will be the market fate of the presented models? Which phone will become popular and break sales records, and which will have to gather dust on the shelves of stores and warehouses?

It is clear that a complete analysis of the indicators of the huge smartphone market requires too detailed immersion into the topic, but in this series of articles we will still try to answer the questions raised. Let's see which smartphones are the most popular in 2018; fortunately, analytical agencies provided a lot of interesting information based on the results of the first half of the year and the second quarter.

Smartphone market 2018: leaders

So, which smartphones are the most popular? To a first approximation, the answer is very simple - these are Samsung, Huawei and Apple. By the way, in exactly that order. But the situation becomes more complicated, and significantly more so, as soon as we pose an additional question - where? Russia, Europe or India are one thing, and China or the USA are quite another. Therefore, we suggest moving on to studying the topic in more detail.

Smartphone sales statistics 2018 in the world

The global smartphone market is experiencing a decline in consumer activity in 2018. People buy phones less often, although this is not true for all regions. In the first quarter of 2018, a serious drop in sales was observed in China, the USA and Western Europe. In Central and Eastern Europe Smartphone sales statistics are better - the growth trend continues here.

The growth in smartphone sales in Russia was noticeable, although this is more expressed in monetary terms rather than in the number of units sold. Russians began to buy more expensive smartphones; the flagship segment showed good growth.

Based on the results of the second quarter, the global smartphone market in 2018 grew slightly, but compared to last year, the dynamics are still negative. In China, the world's largest smartphone market, handsets are still being purchased less frequently than before. Growth continues in Africa and Eastern Europe, but too few smartphones are being purchased here to have any impact on overall sales statistics. Growing markets include India, which is the third most important smartphone market in the world (after China and the US).

All this information about smartphone markets and dynamics will help you better interpret the results you see in the table. It presents the top ten manufacturers, leaders of the smartphone market in 2018.

Smartphone market 2018: top sellers

Number of smartphones sold (millions) in the world	Q2 2017	Q2 2018	Dynamics
Samsung	80.4	71.6	-11%
Huawei	38.5	54.2	+41%
Apple	41.0	41.3	+1%
Xiaomi	23.1	33.0	+43%
Oppo	30.5	29.6	-3%
vivo	25.8	26.0	+1%
LG	13.3	10.2	-23%
Lenovo	10.8	9.9	-8%
HMD (Nokia)	0.5	4.5	+782%
Tecno	2.8	4.4	+59%
Rest	98.9	75.3	-24%
Total	365.5	360.0	-2%

Based on the results of the second quarter, it continues to hold first place. But the Seoul-based company sold 71 million units, down nearly 9 million from the second quarter of last year.

The negative dynamics are partly explained by the fact that the Galaxy S9/S9+ was not received as warmly as the Koreans would like. By the way, it is for this reason that the new one was launched earlier than usual - at the beginning of August, and not at the end of summer. The second reason for the fall of the Koreans is that their position in China is very fragile; the Seoul company is not among the leaders in smartphone sales in the Middle Kingdom.

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2018

Apple and Samsung control 70% of refurbished smartphone sales

The global market for refurbished smartphones in 2018 amounted to almost 140 million units, an increase of 1% compared to the previous year. Such data was published on March 14, 2019 by analysts at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Manufacturers independently restore used phones, replacing the case, screen and battery, installing a new operating system and assigning a new serial number to the device. Such devices have official guarantee from the manufacturer and are packaged in a box with new headphones, charger and other accessories. Thus, refurbished smartphones look like new ones.

Dynamics of changes in the market for refurbished smartphones in different countries, Counterpoint Technology Market Research data for 2018

The market for such products virtually stopped growing globally in 2018 due to an 11 percent drop in sales of new smartphones in key markets such as China and the United States. However, this decline was partially offset by an improvement in the secondary market ecosystem: collection, sorting, repair and further distribution of refurbished pipes in offline or online retail.

At the same time, in some countries there was a surge in demand for refurbished smartphones. For example, in India they sold 14 million units at the end of 2018, which is 14% more than a year ago. Moreover, there remains great potential for further growth, given that 72% of devices in India do not end up on the secondary market, Kang noted.

The leaders in the refurbished smartphone market are Apple and Samsung, which accounted for 70% of sales of such products in 2018.

GfK: The global smartphone market reached $522 billion in 2018

The ongoing trend towards premium models contributed to further growth in global smartphone sales in 2018. In numbers, this is an increase of five percent ($522 billion). However, demand for smartphones in 2018 decreased by three percent compared to 2017, to 1.44 billion units sold worldwide. Smartphones have become a major part of overall consumer spending global market household appliances and electronics last year. In 2019, the market growth is expected to be one percent.

The results for the 4th quarter of 2018 show a similar trend. About 375 million smartphones (down 7 percent) were sold globally year-over-year, generating $144 billion in sales.

a lack of innovative solutions leads to an increase in replacement cycle

About twelve percent of smartphones sold in 2018 (nine percent in 2017) cost more than $800. Intense competition continues in the middle price segment of $150-400, which accounted for 46 percent of smartphones sold in 2018 (44 percent in 2017).

In the 4th quarter of 2018, the smartphone replacement cycle continues to increase: the lack of attractive innovative solutions has an impact, which also led to a decrease average price sales up two percent, to $384. In Russia, over the same period, the average price tag of a smartphone increased by 9 percent and in 2018 amounted to $250.

Technology for a better experience

GfK Consumer Life research shows that consumer attitudes towards ownership are changing. It's not just about people preferring to have fewer things best quality at higher prices, but also about the fact that experience is more important than possession. Increased memory capacity, a larger display diagonal or a larger number of megapixels in the camera - all this is no longer able to captivate consumers and stimulate demand.

Igor Richter, telecommunications expert at GfK, comments: “Our research shows that while new smartphones offer features and performance comparable to laptops, they still require conversion to new experience. Quality games with high system requirements – the main driver of industry sales personal computers, while the potential of using smartphones for such games remains unexplored. Despite the relatively small display sizes compared to PCs, their powerful chipsets, a high resolution and growing battery capacities make gaming smartphones the ideal portable solution for gamers.”

Major wearable device categories saw growth in 2018, with demand up 16 percent year-on-year and sales up 35 percent. The demand drivers were smartwatches with a SIM card slot, which accounted for the bulk of sales in the wearable devices category. SIM-enabled smartwatches accounted for 17 percent of sales in the wearables category (up from 8 percent in 2017).

Demand in Central and Eastern Europe and Developing Asia* only partially offset the decline in China

The Chinese market is the main consumer in the global smartphone market, in addition, it is also the home market for those who have entered the global level Chinese brands. 40 percent of smartphones from Chinese brands in 2018 were purchased outside of China (31 percent in 2016). The decline in demand in China in the 4th quarter of 2018 (minus 19 percent year-on-year) in terms of volume (27 percent of sales volume) had a significant impact on global indicators. Continued demand growth in developing Asia* (up 13 percent year-on-year) and Central and Eastern Europe (up three percent year-on-year) only partially offset the decline in China in Q4 2018.

Market growth by 1.2% to $1.56 billion - Gartner

On February 21, 2019, the analyst company Gartner published some results of its research on the global smartphone market. In 2018, consumers around the world bought 1.56 billion such devices, which is 1.2% more than the previous year.

At the same time, in North America, annual sales of smartphones decreased by 6.8%, in developed countries of the Asia-Pacific region - by 3.4%, in China - by 3%.

The largest smartphone manufacturers, according to Gartner

In mature markets, smartphone demand largely depends on the attractiveness of flagship models from the three leading brands - Samsung, Apple and Huawei. And two of them recorded a decline in 2018, noted Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.

According to him, demand for the most expensive and technically advanced devices continues to decline due to rising prices and slow implementation innovative features. At the same time, sales of entry-level and mid-level phones are still growing due to the price factor.

In 2018, Samsung and Apple recorded a decline in smartphone sales of 8% and 3% respectively, while Huawei showed a growth of 35%. Xiaomi and Oppo, two of the top five smartphone manufacturers, also increased sales of these gadgets.

According to Anshul Gupta, demand for the iPhone is declining for two main reasons: firstly, consumers are postponing the purchase of new smartphones, waiting for innovative products to appear, and secondly, there are many similar characteristics to the market. iPhone smartphones offered at lower prices.

As for Samsung, the South Korean corporation suffers to a greater extent from increased competition from Chinese brands that are exploring new segments of the smartphone market.

Best Selling Smartphones - Canalys

In February 2019, the analytical company Canalys presented a list of the world's best-selling smartphones based on the results of the previous year. The first four places were taken by Apple devices, and the fifth position was occupied by the Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime, introduced back in 2016.

Apple iPhone 8 Plus
Apple iPhone XR
Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime
Samsung Galaxy S9+
Xiaomi Redmi Note 5
Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro
Samsung Galaxy J6
Apple iPhone XS
Vivo X21
Xiaomi Redmi 6A
Xiaomi Redmi 6

Global shipments of Apple iPhone 8 in 2018 exceeded 36 million units. IN different regions the balance of power is different. For example, in the Asia-Pacific region, the first place in sales was taken by the Redmi 5A, which sold more than 15 million units there in 2018. In China, there was no equal to the Oppo R15 model, which the Chinese purchased in quantities of more than 15 million units.

In Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, the most popular smartphone is the Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime. In Central and Eastern Europe, the sales leader was the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017), and in Western Europe - the iPhone 8.

Meanwhile, in February 2019, Business Insider observers ranked the 20 smartphones with the best characteristics. Journalists gave first place to the OnePlus 6T model and noted its attractive price compared to its competitors. The whole list is as follows:

OnePlus 6T
iPhone XR
Google Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone X
Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
iPhone 8 Plus
Samsung Galaxy S9

Market decline by 4.1% to 1.41 billion devices - IDC. Top 5 leaders

In 2018, smartphone shipments on a global scale reached 1.41 billion units, decreasing by 4.1% compared to 2017. The market volume has been falling for the second year in a row, whereas previously it showed only growth, according to IDC data published at the end of January 2019.

The global smartphone market is in trouble, says IDC analyst Ryan Reith. - With the exception of a handful of fast-growing regions such as India, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam, we did not see much positive activity in 2018. We see several reasons for this: longer lead times for purchasing new devices to replace old ones, increasing smartphone penetration in many major markets, political and economic uncertainty, and increasing consumer frustration with price increases.

Growth dynamics of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the global market, IDC data

The study notes that despite the challenges in the global market, most attention is focused on China, since this country has a strong influence on global performance. China accounts for approximately 30% of smartphone sales, and in 2018, shipments of handsets in this market decreased by 10%. The high level of inventories of unsold devices has become a problem in the Middle Kingdom, especially against the backdrop of a decline in consumer spending on gadgets in general.

The largest smartphone manufacturers in the Chinese market are local brands: Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi. Their joint share in 2018 was 78% compared to 66% a year earlier.

At the global level, the share of the top five increased during this time from 63% to 69%. If we take the six largest vendors, they accounted for about 75% of smartphone sales in 2018. The balance of power in the market is presented in the table below.

According to IDC analyst Anthony Scarsella, as consumers upgrade their phones less and less, manufacturers will have to re-find the balance between the latest technologies, attractive design and affordable prices.

5 trends in the smartphone market in 2019

At the beginning of December 2018, the ZDNet publication named the main technological trends that, according to journalists, will prevail in the smartphone market in 2019.

In 2019, the first devices supporting fifth generation networks (5G) should appear on the smartphone market. In December 2018, Qualcomm and MediaTek presented their processors with built-in 5G modems.

IDC: First decline at the end of the year to 1.472 billion devices

At the beginning of February 2018, the analytical company IDC reported the results of the global smartphone market in 2017. Device shipments dropped by only 0.1% (manufacturers produced 1.472 billion devices compared to 1.473 billion in 2016), but this decline in annual terms was the first in the entire period of IDC’s monitoring of the market.

Commenting on the results, IDC senior analyst Jitesh Ubrani noted that in 2017, the flagship models of the previous worship were more expensive for many buyers. preferred option rather than new, ultra-expensive high-end smartphones.

The largest smartphone manufacturers, according to IDC

The specialist also drew attention to the desire of leading players to expand their product range in order to cover as many price segments as possible and increase the audience. In this situation, it was especially difficult for smaller manufacturers: in the low-cost category they experienced incredible competitive pressure from Chinese brands Honor, Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo, while in the premium smartphone segment Apple, Samsung and Huawei continued to reign.

Characterizing the balance of power in the industry, analysts reported that Samsung remains the leader of the global smartphone market, despite the fact that in the final quarter of 2017 the South Korean giant lost to Apple. At the end of the entire year, Samsung released 317.3 million devices, increasing shipments by 1.9% compared to 2016’s 311.4 million devices. Samsung's market share was estimated at 21.6%.

GfK: Growth by 9% in money

TrendForce: Growth by 6.5% to 1.46 billion units thanks to Chinese brands

In 2017, the global smartphone market reached 1.46 billion units, an increase of 6.5% compared to the previous year. This rise was largely ensured by Chinese companies, TrendForce analysts report.

Telecommunications operators from the Middle Kingdom sold phones at reduced prices in exchange for connection to their tariff plans. At the same time, Chinese smartphone manufacturers actively carried out activities to sell devices in emerging markets.

Chinese brands helped the smartphone market grow in 2017

The leader of the global smartphone market remained Samsung Electronics, which in 2017 delivered a record number of handsets - 320 million units, which is 3% greater value a year ago. High demand for J-series models helped compensate for the decline of the South Korean giant in the Chinese market.

Despite the success of the flagship iPhone X, shipments of Apple phones increased by only 3% in 2017. main reason such a weak increase lies in technical barriers, which hindered improvements in the production efficiency of innovative models, the study found.

Over the years, Chinese brands have achieved strong results thanks to strong phone sales in the home market. However, the penetration of smartphones in the country has reached its limit, so both large companies and young manufacturers have switched to foreign developing regions and cooperation with foreign operators, hoping to support their position.

2016

The Chinese are ahead of Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market

On January 25, 2017, the analytical company TrendForce published the results of a study of the global smartphone market. Experts reported that Chinese brands are ahead of the leaders in terms of product output.

TrendForce estimates that global smartphone shipments reached 1.36 billion units in 2016, up 4.7% from the previous year. Chinese manufacturers produced a total of 629 million devices, or 46% of the total. The two largest vendors - Samsung Electronics and Apple - have prepared 519 million smartphones for sale. Analysts expect that in 2017, companies from the Middle Kingdom will occupy about 50% of the global smart phone market, complicating the position of competitors.

Distribution of forces among smartphone manufacturers in 2015 and 2016, data from TrendFocrce

In 2016, Samsung reduced smartphone shipments by 3.3%, and the market share of the South Korean giant decreased to 23%. The fall in the number of products released and the share in annual terms was the second in a row.

Basic Samsung problems were associated with the disastrous release of the flagship model Galaxy Note 7 (it was withdrawn from sale due to mass defects) and the activity of Chinese companies that strengthened their positions in various market segments - from cheap to expensive premium devices.

In 2016 Apple year experienced the first decline in smartphone sales in its history. The regression was measured at 15.3% and is caused by the lack of innovative features in the Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, analysts say. According to their forecasts, in 2017 iPhone release will increase by several percent, and Samsung's decline will continue.

The top three largest smartphone manufacturers in 2016 was closed by the Chinese Huawei. Next came its compatriots Oppo and Vivo, which shipped 180 million handsets between them in a year, which allowed them to get ahead of Lenovo and Xiaomi.

The study also states that one of the most anticipated events in early 2017 should be the return of the Nokia brand to the smartphone market.

The most popular smartphones

In their report, experts do not name exact sales figures, but presented a graph showing approximate demand. The best-selling smartphone is the iPhone 6s, with global shipments of about 60 million units in 2016.

The most popular smartphones, IHS data for 2016

In second position is the Apple iPhone 7 with annual shipments of just over 50 million units. The top 3 included another device produced by Apple - the iPhone 7 Plus, the production of which at the end of 2016 exceeded 25 million units.

Apple has once again demonstrated that its new phones contain enough innovation and new features to help the company grow sales and remain successful. At the same Apple time can successfully sell old products for a long time, the study says.

Five Samsung models made it into the top ten best-selling smartphones at the end of 2016: Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy J3 (2016), Galaxy J5, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy J7. At the same time, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge sold 10 million more units during the year than their predecessors over a comparable period of time. This was facilitated by promotions, in which, in particular, flagship devices were sold complete with the Gear VR virtual reality helmet.

In the top ten popular smartphones There turned out to be only one device that was not produced by Apple or Samsung. This is Oppo A53. In 2016, the Chinese company increased its shipments of smart phones by 109%, which allowed it to take fourth place in the list of the largest brands on the market. It is worth noting that more than 80% of Oppo phones are sold in the Middle Kingdom.

Sales growth despite decline in Samsung and Apple

On February 15, 2017, the analytical company Gartner published brief results of a study of the global smartphone market. Its volume increased by 5% despite a drop in sales from leading companies Samsung Electroncis and Apple.

According to Gartner, almost 1.5 billion smartphones were sold worldwide in 2016, up from 1.4 billion the year before. Samsung remained in first place in sales of these products, but the market share of the South Korean giant decreased over the year from 22.5% to 20.5%. Apple, which followed behind, also experienced a decline: the corporation's share fell from 15.9% to 14.4%.

The largest smartphone manufacturers, according to Gartner for 2015 and 2016.

Gartner Research Director Anshul Gupta notes that sales Samsung smartphones began to decline in the third quarter of 2016 and continued to fall in the fourth due to the recall of the flagship Galaxy Note 7 model, which turned out to be unsafe for users.

In addition to the failed Galaxy release Note 7, Samsung's business was negatively impacted by competition from Chinese manufacturers such as Oppo, BBK, Huawei, ZTE, Xiaomi and Lenovo, which are actively strengthening their positions in foreign markets. In October-December 2016, Huawei, Oppo and BBK accounted for about 21.3% of the global smartphone market, which is 7.3 percentage points more than a year ago.

According to Anshul Gupta, sales of premium models helped Huawei close the gap with Samsung to 36 million smartphones sold in October-December 2016, against more than 50 million handsets in the same period the previous year.

Oppo in 2016 took fourth place in sales of smart phones globally and first place in the Middle Kingdom, which was facilitated by the release of devices with high performance, fast charging and advanced front cameras.

Growth of 6.6% thanks to Russia - GfK

On February 8, 2017, the analytical company GfK published the results of a study of the global smartphone market. Experts reported that device sales grew by 6.6%, thanks in part to the Russian and Ukrainian markets. Sales of smartphones in Russia increased by 10%.

According to GfK estimates, 1.4 billion smartphones were sold worldwide in 2016, compared to 1.32 billion the year before. Revenue rose to $428.9 billion from $398.1 billion.

Smartphone sales by region, GfK data for 2015 and 2016.

The highest rise - 17 percent - was shown by China, where 385.3 million smartphones were sold in 2016. Sales of these electronics in Central and Eastern Europe, which includes Russia, increased by 16%.

Analysts did not provide annual figures for the Russian market, but reported an increase in smartphone sales in the Russian Federation by 10% in October-December 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. This rise was facilitated by the stabilization of the ruble. The volume of the Ukrainian smartphone market increased by 34% due to an improvement in the political situation, the study says.

According to GfK forecasts, in 2017, sales of smartphones in Central and Eastern Europe will increase by 8% and reach 84.4 million units.

In 2016, a decline in sales of smart phones in physical terms was recorded only in Western Europe (by 3%) and Latin America (by 1%). There was an increase in money everywhere, but in North America the dynamics were close to zero.

Analysts note that in the fourth quarter of 2016, the North American market was able to return to growth thanks to the release of flagship products and promotions carried out by mobile operators in the United States.

2015: The Chinese are one step away from leadership

On January 14, 2016, the analytical company TrendForce published the results of a study of the global smartphone market. Experts noted that Chinese manufacturers have almost caught up with leaders Apple and Samsung in terms of sales.

According to TrendForce, in 2015, global shipments of smartphones grew by 10.3% compared to the previous year and reached 1.3 billion units. Brands from the Middle Kingdom together produced 539 million pipes, or more than 40% of the total. A little more - 547 million devices - for two people were prepared for Samsung sales and Apple.

Chinese manufacturers have almost caught up Apple leaders and Samsung by sales size

Experts expect that already in 2016, Chinese manufacturers will become the largest smartphone suppliers, occupying about 45% of the market. Thus, almost every second smartphone sold in the world will be a Chinese brand, notes TrendForce analyst Avril Wu.

In the top ten leading smartphone suppliers at the end of 2015, seven places were taken by companies from China. Huawei ranked highest, having shipped 108 million smartphones, which allowed the vendor to take third position after Samsung and Apple.

IN last years Huawei generously invested in R&D and also developed its own mobile processors and has accumulated a wealth of chip-related intellectual property. As a result, the company was able to strengthen its position in foreign markets, avoid patent disputes with competitors and launch production of products that are not inferior in quality and functionality to devices of international brands, TrendForce says.

Samsung remained the leading smartphone manufacturer in 2015, but the corporation's shipments decreased for the first time in history - by 1.8% to 320 million units. The South Korean giant's share fell from 28% to 25%.

The largest smartphone manufacturers, according to TrendForce

Against the background of the failures of its competitor, Apple was able to get closer to it, gaining a 17.5 percent market share in 2015. This corresponds to 227 million iPhones released, which is 17.7% more than a year earlier.

2014

The Chinese are eating away Samsung's share

On November 24, 2014, the analytical company Intelligence published a graph reflecting the dynamics of changes in the positions of leading smartphone manufacturers in the period from the second quarter of 2008 to April-June 2014. Visual statistics were prepared based on data from research agencies IDC and Strategy Analytics.

Samsung's work in the smartphone market is complicated by Chinese competitors

As you can see in the illustration, in four years Samsung has become the undisputed leader in the global smartphone market, but since the beginning of 2014, the South Korean company has not been doing well.

Samsung is experiencing serious competitive pressure on two fronts: in the premium handset segment, the corporation is finding it difficult to compete with Apple, and in the low-cost device sector, pressure from Chinese manufacturers such as Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi is increasing.

The latter, in just a few years, was able to transform itself from a little-known smartphone developer to the third largest manufacturer in the world in terms of the volume of shipments of these products. According to IDC analysts, in the third quarter of 2014, Xiaomi prepared 17.3 million smart phones for sale, which is three times more than a year earlier. The company's market share increased from 2.1% to 5.3%. Xiaomi expects that by the end of 2014, there will be 70 million active users of its smartphones globally.

The activity of Chinese competitors is undermining Samsung's business, which prompts the company to take drastic measures. According to The Wall Street Journal, the head of the division responsible for smartphones and tablets Samsung Jay Kei Shin (J.K. Shin) will transfer his powers to the head of the consumer electronics division, B.K. Yoon.

Also in 2015, Samsung is going to reduce the range of smartphones by 25-30%, paying more attention to mid- and entry-level devices. IDC estimates the company's market share at 23.8% as of the third quarter of 2014. A year earlier, this figure was 32.5%.

Samsung's main hope in 2014 was flagship model Galaxy S5, however, demand for it turned out to be noticeably lower compared to its predecessor. In the three months since the Galaxy S5 hit stores in April, the device has sold 12 million units. Sales of the Galaxy S4 for the same time period in 2013 amounted to 16 million units.

eMarketer Forecast to 2018

According to eMarketer researchers, the total number of smartphones in active use on the planet will exceed the 2 billion mark for the first time by 2016 and will be 2.16 billion, up from 1.9 billion in 2015 and 1.6 billion devices in 2014.

The total number of smartphone users, according to Analysys Mason experts, will triple over the next five years and exceed 3.4 billion by 2017. However, the growth rate of new smartphone users is gradually slowing down, from 39% in 2011 to 29% in 2012. In 2013, the influx of new smartphone users is expected to decline by up to 20%.

As for the volume of smartphone supplies, they will grow from 700 million at the end of 2012 (which is 41.2% of the total supply of mobile phones), to 1.37 billion smartphones by the end of 2017 (then the volume of smartphone supplies will be 70 % of the total supply of mobile phones). Let's add to this that, according to the forecast, by 2017 the transition to more new model a smartphone will be the reason for purchasing a smartphone in three out of four cases, while now smartphones are purchased for this reason in less than half of the cases.

According to Gartner analysts, about 66% of mobile phones sold worldwide in the third quarter of 2014 were smartphones. However, if we consider the number of users (as they do in eMarketer), then the share of people who own smart handsets does not exceed 40% as of the end of 2014. There will be more smartphones regular phones only in 2018.

In 2018, smartphones will account for more than half of the mobile phones used by people around the world.

2012: Forecast of development of mobile platforms until 2017

Based on the results of July-September 2011. number of deliveries mobile gadgets in China amounted to 24 million versus the same figure of 23 million in the USA. The agency's analysts also noted that during the reporting period, sales in China increased by 58%, while in the United States they decreased by 7%. The largest share of shipments fell on phones from Nokia Corporation (28.5%) and Samsung (17.6%).

Strategy Analytics spokesman Tom Kang noted that the increase in sales was caused by a "wave" of low-cost models based on the Android platform produced Chinese companies, as well as the growing availability of smartphones through retail channels.

Let us note that the center of global consumption is increasingly shifting from the United States to China every year. The Chinese economy, which is rapidly developing even in the most difficult crises, stimulates the growth of incomes of the population, which is happy to buy more and more cars, equipment and other durable goods. A couple of years earlier, China took the title of the largest car market from the United States, and this year - the title of the largest personal computer (PC) market.

Samsung - 48% of the global smartphone market in terms of shipments. 51.9 million mobile devices using this platform were sent to sales channels, which is 379% more than in the same period in 2010, reports Canalys. For comparison, shipments of smartphones on platforms of all types over the same period increased by 73% to 107.7 million units.

Android is the most popular platform in 35 of the 56 countries reviewed by analysts. The platform demonstrates especially high performance in countries of the Asia-Pacific region, such as South Korea and Taiwan, in which its share is 85% and 71% of all smartphones shipped to the market, respectively. Android is the main driver of the global smartphone market and, as a result, the mobile terminal market as a whole. In the fourth quarter, it also took first place, but with a smaller share.

“They decided that they were the market leaders and the rest should follow them, no matter what they did,” says Chichvarkin. He cites the example of another cell phone manufacturer - Samsung, which successfully produces smartphones and is generally “sitting on Apple’s tail.” Nokia has missed out on the touchscreen smartphone market, says Eldar Murtazin, leading analyst at Mobile Research Group.

However, Nokia shareholders were not very upset. On July 21, 2011, at the beginning of the trading session on the NYSE, the Finnish company's depositary receipts rose in price by 3%.

Nokia is doing well in Russia. According to Euroset, 8.9 million were sold here in the first half of the year. Nokia smartphones(22% of global sales), and iPhone - an order of magnitude less, retaining only 0.8 million

Company	Deliveries in 2010	Market share in 2010	Deliveries in 2009	Market share in 2009	Supply growth year on year
Nokia	100,3	33,1 %	67,7	39,0 %	48,2 %
RIM	48,8	16,1 %	34,5	19,9 %	41,4 %
Apple	47,5	15,7 %	25,1	14,5 %	89,2 %
Samsung	23,0	7,6 %	5,5	3,2 %	318,2 %
HTC	21,5	7,1 %	8,1	4,7 %	165,4 %
Others	61,5	20,3 %	32,6	18,8 %	88,7 %
Total	302,6	100,0 %	173,5	100,0 %	74,4 %