14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming Galaxy S9 and the Note 9 due in the summer won’t help Samsung increase its market share next year, according to a new forecast, with Apple and Chinese phone makers to improve thanks to their new products.
Strategy Analytics says Samsung could decline from 20.5 percent market share estimated for 2017 to 19.2 percent next year, with shipments to total 315 million units.
This could be the first time Samsung declines year-over-year without taking into account the 2016 performance when market share was substantially impacted by the Note 7 fiasco.
On the other hand, Apple appears to be the company benefiting following Samsung’s drop, as Cupertino is expected to grow from 14 percent to 14.3 percent globally. This is likely to be possible thanks to the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X, with the latter expected to record a boom in early 2018 following Apple aligning production with demand.
Chinese makers on the rise
Sales of the iPhone X has so far been impacted by the constrained supply, in turn caused by production struggles due to the complex nature of some components, including the Face ID facial recognition camera.
Apple is now in the process of boosting inventory across the world, and the iPhone X is expected to become available for walk-in customers in early 2018. As a result, Apple is expected to ship 234 million units next year, according to the analyst house.
At the same time, Chinese phone makers are also projected to increase their shares thanks to budget models that will help them expand in developing markets. Huawei and Oppo are both set to grow in 2018, and their share is likely to reach 10 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.
Such forecasts are worrying for Samsung, especially given the product overhaul that the company plans for 2018, with Apple also said to be preparing bigger upgrades, including expanding the facial recognition system to all iPhone models in its lineup.