- IDC says that iOS is set to reach its highest share of the worldwide smartphone market this year at 20 per cent while Android will decline six per cent year on year in 2023.
- The success of Apple’s Pro/ProMax models has helped Apple gain a share in the premium segment.
Which country is the cheapest place to buy Apple’s iPhone 15 that are set to hit the shelves on September 22 this year?
Apple unveiled the iPhone’s 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max devices with different colours and the pre-orders start on September 15th.
The highlight was the Pro model, which is made of titanium frame, the lightest material that Apple has ever built.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are powered by last year’s A16 Bionic ship while the Pro models are powered by an A17 chip.
The cheapest place to buy the devices is in the US (see table), followed by China and Canada. The price comparison is for the base models and without taxes.
The iPhone 15 series is available at different prices depending on the market.
However, the US devices only support eSIM. So, buying devices from the US may not work in certain countries due to the eSIM option and some features also may not work due to telecom regulations in those countries.
Ardit Ballhysa, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, said that eSIM, while largely underutilised worldwide despite Apple claiming that over 190 carriers support it globally (as of July 2023), was made the default and only option for US consumers with the release of the iPhone 14 series. The same is the case for the iPhone 15 series.
“Perhaps an eSIM only iPhone fairs unfavourably via the perspective of consumers outside the US, or maybe carriers globally are just not ready for eSIM smartphones just yet. Maybe next year we’ll learn more.”
For the first time in over 10 years, he said that iPhone will get an updated charging port, replacing the lighting port with the universally used USB-C.
But, if not for the EU’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA), he said that Apple would have opted to continue using the lighting port for the foreseeable future.
“The USB-C on the iPhone highlights how influential the DMA ruling is, where not even the most valuable and arguably one of the most influential companies in the world is immune from it.
“Another key change pertains to the Pro model’s composition is that iPhones will feature a titanium enclosure, marking a move away from stainless steel first introduced on the iPhone X in 2017. While it is true that no other smartphone available on the market offers a titanium enclosure, making Apple the only smartphone OEM to do so, it is not true that it is the first to do so.”
Both the Essential Phone and Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha, he said offered titanium in their enclosures, but both were also discontinued, hence Apple being the only smartphone OEM to currently offer smartphones with titanium enclosures.
How will be the sales performance?
According to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the premium segment of the global smartphone market has grown 10pts since 2019 to 20 per cent share in the first half of 2023.
Within it, Apple holds a dominant 71 per cent share, significantly up from 63 per cent in 2019.
The success of Apple’s Pro/ProMax models has helped Apple gain share in premium, while Samsung is trying hard to regain lost premium share with a focus on its foldable and other flagship devices.
“With the expected hike in the price of iPhone 15 and new premium devices from Huawei, push of the foldables by Samsung, Apple’s premium growth in share will be challenged more now than ever,” Nabila Popal, research director for consumer devices at IDC, said.
According to research firm TrendForce, iPhone sales for the year may take a hit, expected to hover between 220 to 225 million units for a five per cent year-on-year decline due to overall gloomy market sentiment and Huawei’s comeback in full swing with Mate 60 Pro and with China has ordering central government agencies not to bring iPhones into the office or use them for work.
TrendForce predicts a production figure of approximately 80 million units for the iPhone 15 series, which constitutes over 60 per cent of Apple’s new device production.
This represents a six per cent year-on-year growth, bouncing back from last year’s Foxconn-related production hiccups.
Popal said that iOS is set to reach its highest share of the worldwide smartphone market this year at 20 per cent.
Android will decline six per cent year on year in 2023 while iOS will grow by one per cent, all the more impressive as the overall market is forecast to decline 4.7 per cent year on year in 2023.
Popal said that it clearly demonstrates how Apple has been more resilient and Android has borne the brunt of the market decline in the last few years.
The worldwide sales of smartphones are forecast to decline 4.7 per cent year over year in 2023 to 1.15 billion units, the lowest volume in a decade.
Despite the lower forecast for 2023, IDC expects the market to recover in 2024 with 4.5 per cent year-over-year growth followed by growth in the low single digits through the remainder of the forecast, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate of 1.7 per cent.
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