The state of the premium smartphone market: Apple reigns supreme

Smartphones are getting more and more expensive. This comes as an only natural development, given how the latter have become many users' primary devices over the last decade. But how exactly does the premium smartphone market look like, currently? A report by Counterpoint seems to give us a rough idea.

According to the document, the average selling price of premium smartphones (classified as those above $400) has risen to $780, an all-time high. More shockingly, a 94% year-on-year growth has been observed in the $1000+ market segment.

The report stipulates that the likeliest reason for the staggering number is the advent of 5G, which in turn has motivated many users to upgrade their devices. It should be noted that the premium smartphone segment has consistently outperformed the smartphone market as a whole over the past couple of years.

Unsurprisingly, Apple dominates the premium segment of the smartphone market with a sizable 57% market share. When it comes to the $1000+ market segment, the Cupertino company commands a whopping 78%. Even more impressively, Apple has sustained a 114% year-on-year growth in that particular segment.

The explanation behind these metrics is rather straightforward. In the context of rising inflation across the world, many users are holding back on big purchases, like smartphones. However, high-end users and more affluent customers in particular are somewhat unaffected by the economic downturn. Hence, the premium segment of the smartphone market continues to sustain growth, even if the market as a whole is under threat.

Many have speculated how the anticipated price increase of Apple’s high-end Pro and Pro Max iPhone lineups could affect sales. In fact, a prominent Apple analyst even went as far as to suggest in a tweet that Apple is holding the iPhone 14 release event relatively early on in September precisely because of unfavorable economic conditions.

Based on this report, it seems that Apple is the tech giant that should be concerned the least about a possible recession and high inflation. There will always be people willing to splurge $1000+ on a smartphone. Odds are, the very same users will be those that turn to Apple