Apple and Samsung dominated premium smartphone sales during Q3

Throughout the months of July, August, and September, sales of smartphones valued at $400 or higher accounted for 22% of the global market. This represents an increase of 19% over the year prior. Of the total, Apple's iPhone accounted for almost half of all sales during the quarter. Samsung followed in a distant second with 22% and Huawei in third with 12% – this is the first time Huawei has hit a double-digits.

Dividing up the segment by price, Samsung dominated the $400-600 market with an impressive 25% share. Apple and Huawei, on the other hand, sat in second and third place with shares of 21% and 17% respectively. Vivo and Oppo completed the top 5 thanks to their popularity in China, while landing 6th place was Xiaomi with a market share of 6%.

Elsewhere in the premium segment, the $600-800 group was unsurprisingly dominated by Apple and Samsung once again with a combined share of 82%. However, only Apple was capable of maintaining its popularity in the $800+ segment. In fact, thanks to last year's iPhone X and the newer iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple's iPhone accounted for a whopping 79% of all sales in this section of the market.

Despite not being in the top five on a global scale, Counterpoint Research listed OnePlus as one of the fastest-growing brands in the $400-600 segment thanks to its popularity in India, China, and the UK. Google, on the other hand, also continued to grow its presence in the smartphone market during Q3 – it was one of the top 5 brands in both Western Europe and North America.