International Data Corporation (IDC) has released their new smartphone shipments report for the first half of 2018. As per the research firm, the local smartphone industry was able to bounce back as more Filipinos are investing more money on smartphones.
IDC reported a 5.6% year-over-year growth in 1H18, in contrast to the -6.6% YoY decline from last year. The development was due to the increasing number of shipments in the midrange category this year.
However, ultra low-end smartphones still have the biggest market share, which is why Cherry Mobile is still on top. But, the local brand has experienced a slight decline as the average selling price (ASP) have increased to USD192 (~Php10,400), from USD127 (~Php6,900) from 1H17.
This basically means that more and more Filipinos are attracted on getting midrange smartphones as their needs become more demanding. This is due to the growing popularity of mobile gaming, creating content, and doing other tasks that require more powerful hardware.
In addition, the existence of financing companies like Home Credit allowed people to have access to more expensive smartphones.
Hopefully, Cherry Mobile can keep up their pace as they release the new Flare S7 Plus. This device sports a slew of capable midrange specs at an appealing price tag.
Right behind Cherry Mobile is Samsung. The South Korean company maintains to keep the second spot as they are present in almost all price category — from the Galaxy J2 Core up to the Galaxy Note 9.
Vivo did step up and stole the third spot. The brand became more aggressive in the marketing efforts, which allowed them to improve in the rankings. Also, some of their affordable devices like the Y71 and the Y85 has proven to be a hit to the consumers.
OPPO then falls on the fourth spot as Vivo overtakes them. Still, the company’s strong marketing strategies, mall ads, and tons of promodisers allowed them to keep their footing stable.
Also, the OPPO F7 and F7 Youth are also some of the best-sellers in the industry, which further proves the point that midrange devices are slowly dominating the local market. With the addition of the OPPO F9, we’re expecting them to gain more market share.
Lastly, we have Huawei taking the fifth seat. They might come last, but this company actually posted a significant growth as they have also improved their marketing game and in-store visibility.
It’s also worth noting that brands like Cloudfone and MyPhone, which are some of the hard-hitters in the past, have fallen off the list.
Source: IDC