Samsung's efforts to change its product promotion strategy over the year won the smartphone maker and helped it increase its market share in the world and the Middle East and Africa amid falling overall global sales, industry experts said about the Middle East.
Nabila Hit, senior research manager at International Data Corporation (IDC), said that Samsung has posted a very positive first half of 2019 under the Gulf Cooperation Council with a healthy 7% growth and this is likely to continue.
“Low-end ($100-$200) and mid-range ($200-400) smartphones have steadily grown in popularity in the first half of last year, and the two price ranges jointly own 56.1% shares in the first half of this year in the GCC compared to 42,4. XNUMX% stake in the first half of last year.”
In addition, she noted that a significant portion of Samsung's A-series line (A10, A20 and A30) also falls firmly into the price range and has been very well received by the GCC market.
Note 10: corporate device
Shobhit Srivastava, an analyst for Mobile and Ecosystem vs. Research, said the Korean manufacturer had completely redesigned its range in 2019 and was very aggressive with the "A" series of products.
“The market has also reacted to the 'A' series due to its affordable price and rich features in an attempt to compete with other Chinese players. There used to be a series of premium devices, but prices have come down this year.
The “flagship “s” series in which Samsung launched three devices instead of the usual two, covering broader price points also continue to do well.”
With the launch of Note 10 and Note 10 Plus in the Gulf, he said that this is the device that businesses are going to.
“This is about a corporate device, and those people who buy high-end devices are impulsive,” he said.
The 6.8-inch Note 10 Plus with 12GB of RAM is priced at AED4,499 (512GB ROM) and AED3,999 (256GB ROM). 6.3 inch Note 10 with 8GB RAM priced at AED3,499 (256GB ROM)
All devices have up to 1TB microSD card support and will be available in retail stores later this month.
Focus on performance
Tarek Sabbah, Head of IT and Mobile at Samsung Bay, said that two weeks of pre-orders for the Note 10 increased by more than 27% compared to the Note 9, as well as AED 200 cheaper than the Note 9 with more RAM, battery and specifications. .
Of the total pre-orders, he said 81 percent is for the Note10 Plus device while 19 percent is for the Note 10.
“I'm happy with the pre-order numbers for the Note 10, as most newcomers to the family note. These users want the power of the device, pay attention, but want a smaller screen to fit in their hands,” he said.
Akash Balachandran, senior analyst at IDC, says the traditionally mark 10 is Samsung's largest mobile phone with the most advanced features and the most obvious change this year is the introduction of two devices.
“The strategy calls for both purists and users to power a larger model through the 10 Plus while the Note 10 offers the same feature set in a significantly smaller form factor. This is significant, as it not only offers a form of mid-season update from the S-series (and devices from other brands), but also takes note of 10 of a fairly niche segment attractive to users with a focus on performance and to a wider audience,” he said.
In addition, he stated that the new version does not see the Samsung 5G offer as an option - a first for the Note series - and a host of innovations and improvements that will make the Note 10 and 10 Plus quite attractive offerings in the premium segment.
5g phones rejuvenate next year
Srivastava said that 5G devices will recover next year, this year the global smartphone market compared to the fall, as consumers hold on to their devices without replacement.
But Samsung is not launching 5G Note 10 in the Gulf as the market is not yet ready.
“We are working with all stakeholders to launch 5G Note in the region in an attempt to create a new consumer experience. We are ready with devices like S10 and note 10, but when the market is in order, we will start implementing it. As of right now, we don’t have any clarity about readiness yet,” he said.
Quoting a report from market research firm GfK, Sabbah said Samsung had a market share of 38,1% in the first six months of the year and in July, the market share rose to 41,8% on the back of $600 and up in smartphone prices.
“In the $600 price bracket above, Samsung held a 37.3% market share in July compared to 35,7% a year ago,” he said.
According to Counterpoint research, Samsung made deliveries of 72M in the first quarter and 76,7M in the second quarter of this year worldwide. Last year, he made 291.8 million units.
“Samsung will be able to increase its market share globally and compete with other Chinese brands, especially in Europe. Huawei's losses in Europe will not only accrue to Samsung, but also to other Chinese players such as Oppo, vivo and Xiaomi,” Srivastava said.
Replacement cycle gets longer
According to market research firm Gartner, global end-user smartphone sales are expected to decline by 2,5% to 1,5 billion units this year, while in the Middle East and North Africa, the smartphone market is expected to rise to 76.34 m in 2019 is 75.61 m in 2018 and 77.86 m in 2020, according to Gartner.
Srivastava said that the driving factor in the smartphone industry did not exist in the last couple of years, and added that the innovations that have come in are full screen and cameras on the phone.
“It's not the features you want in a phone that should be replaced. With 5G coming, it's going to change the overall experience of the phone," he said.
In addition, he stated that countries such as China and the United States, which have the highest smartphone penetration rate, are already using smartphones and spending more time on it, and services are growing, as well as matching the quality of the device.
“For iPhones, the replacement period is 36 months and 30 months for Android devices,” he said.
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