Emir Bardakçı
Recently, market research firm Counterpoint Research has posted a blog when, on September 3, 2024, it underlined an unexpected surge in global sales recorded for the economy smartphones during the second quarter of 2024. Fueled by emerging markets, budget smartphones were up by 10% year-on-year with sales topping 100 million units, accounting for 37% of global smartphone sales and underpinning surging demand for affordable mobile devices.
Top Performers in the Budget Segment
During Q2 2024, the economy best-sellers gained a quarter of the market share, up from 21% in the same quarter last year. Industry giants Xiaomi, Samsung, and OPPO topped the charts, securing three positions each within the top ten, while the last one was by TECNO. Interestingly, Xiaomi led the global sellout for the budget smartphone segment with its model, the Redmi 13C 4G, followed by Samsung’s Galaxy A05 and Galaxy A15 4G.
Consolidation in the Budget Smartphone Market
This consolidation is significant, considering that the total number of active budget smartphone models reached just over 1,500 at the end of Q2 2024, down nearly half from the level seen in the same quarter of 2018. This points to OEMs continuing to rationalize product portfolios while consumers increasingly favor established brands offering reliable performance and value for money.
Rise of 5G into the Budget Segment
Q2 2024 Trendwise, the increasing adoption of 5G in the budget smartphone category accounted for one of the trends. In Q2 2024, 5G device contribution rose to 24% to continue its 2.5x YoY growth. India and China were strong contributors toward this upsurge as 5G seems to turn out to be a standard feature in budget smartphones within these economies.
Launched in December 2023, the Xiaomi Redmi 13C 5G saw its first-ever entry into the top ten best-selling budget smartphones in Q2 2024, marking the first-ever 5G device in the economy segment to do so. Other hot sellers within the affordable 5G category include the Xiaomi Redmi 12 5G and Realme 12X, both equipped with upward speculative specifications such as powerful cameras, larger battery capacity, and support for fast charging.
What’s Driving Demand?
These budget smartphones will still be able to achieve much success because of their attractive price with competitive features, thus meeting the needs of price-sensitive buyers. With declining prices driving growth, 5G will become increasingly more affordable; the segment under US$150 will grow significantly, with 5G being used by OEMs as a key differentiator in product offerings.
Ahead Going forward, the budget smartphone segment will probably remain in its uptrend, driven by growing interest in 5G devices and further consolidation among OEMs. At the same time, strong performances posted by Xiaomi through this tier-high results from both the Redmi 13C 4G and 5G-underpinned the ability of the brand to sell value-laden smartphones into varied regions.
