Smartphone Brands Retain Home Turf Advantage

Samsung, Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi are among the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, together reaching a global market share of more than 50 percent. While these brands are bought and used all over the world, they have still retained certain home turf advantages. Apple is the most used in the U.S. and Canada, Samsung retains a massive market share at home in South Korea and Xiaomi together with Huawei reach 39 percent of Chinese. The latter is however a number that has been shrinking as the Apple iPhone has continued its global victory march. The company shipped more smartphones that Samsung in 2023 for the first time, reaching 33 percent of Chinese most recently.

68 percent of South Koreans interviewed for Statista's Consumer Insights said that their main smartphone was a Samsung, the highest in the survey and a number that has been stable. Germany and Brazil were two more markets where the Korean manufacturer had a strong showing, with between 36 and 43 percent in either country owning a Samsung as their main smartphone. Despite Apple’s dominance in the U.S. and Canada, Samsung also has a strong customer base there and reaches between 27 and 33 percent of smartphone owners there.

Markets in Spain, India and Mexico are more mixed, with none of the four biggest brands reaching more than roughl a quarter of the population. While the four brands reached more than 80 percent of Spaniards, they had gotten through to only 55 percent of Indians. Here, the smartphone market beyond the big 4 brands remains heavily fragmented. Brands Vivo, OPPO, OnePlus and Realme are each used by between 7 and 10 percent of Indian respondents.