Inflation is taking a toll on the mobile phone market: Why is Apple still happy about it?

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The smartphone world has a new king: the iPhone 14 Pro Max was the world’s best-selling smartphone in the first half of the year. This is what British analytics firm Omdia reports. 26.5 million units shipped worldwide.

This puts the most expensive Apple model at the top for the first time. For the first time after the iPhone 14 Pro Max, only the products of the US manufacturer follow the fourth place. Its main Korean competitor Samsung ranks in the rest of the top 10. The list shows: The gap between premium models and others is widening.

The economic situation with inflation and sometimes even recession also affects the smartphone market. And not directly because of the price of the models, but because many customers can no longer afford to buy a new smartphone. As early as 2022, total sales fell by about one-sixth. Now they have continued to decline over the past six months. First of all, the market for cheap and mid-range models is collapsing because the target audience prefers to turn to second-hand models.

The demand for premium devices is uninterrupted

For low-cost manufacturers, the situation is becoming increasingly difficult. Chinese company Xiaomi, which is the third largest smartphone manufacturer after Apple and Samsung, entered the top 10 last year, while smartphone sales from China fell by more than ten percent compared to the previous year.

“We expect the decline in the mid- and sub-market segment to continue in the second half of the year,” said Jusy Hong, Omdia Senior Research Manager. The biggest loser will be the Android operating system, which is the most prevalent in these segments. “But the demand for premium models is uninterrupted,” says Hong.

This puts Apple in pole position. The multibillion-dollar group is unveiling the 15th version of its smartphone on September 12. But Hong suspects that only two Pro models will rise: “IPhone sales in general will stagnate or continue to decline this year.” Because standard models are becoming less and less popular.

Or to put it another way: affluent customers, who have so far survived the recession, prefer to buy their best right away.

Top 10 best-selling smartphones in the first half of the year

Source :Blick