These days we have got a lot of choices when it comes to smartphones from premium ones to budget devices. Flagship smartphones have come a long way and still has a lot of consumers who want to pay more for a worthy device that can last them for some years.
On the other hand, affordable smartphones with great specs are being loved by a lot of consumers and research says people these days are now turning their way the towards so-called ‘affordable premium’ devices, at whose price the previous flagships were sold.
A recent report from Counterpoint Research on the South Korean smartphone market explains this affordable premium smartphone game in details. Being a South Korean company Samsung smartphones like Galaxy S series and Galaxy Note series have been the top-selling devices in the country for quite sometime.
But the Q1 2020 Counterpoint Research smartphone sales tracker for South Korea changes the concept and brings us what consumers now think when they buy a smartphone.
The top-selling smartphone last Q1 2019 was the Galaxy Note 9 whose ASP (Average Selling Price) was $917 whereas, in Q1 2020, the top-selling device is the Galaxy A90 5G whose ASP is just $453, this itself says a lot. There are flagships too in the top 5 but only 2 compared to 4 last year.
The second most-selling Samsung phone this year is the Galaxy Note 10 5G with an ASP of $941 wile the 5th belongs Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G with $1,092 ASP. The only two proper Samsung flagships that were hugely sold in South Korea this Q1 2020.
Apart from them, all were Samsung’s Galaxy A series of smartphones which translates the fact people are opting more for the mid-range smartphones or the affordable premium smartphones.
Gone are the days, when people had too pay a lot for good cameras, design or performance and even battery. These more or else every budget smartphone pack great features that are adequate for any other people, while anyone who like a ‘a bit extra’ would most likely opt for an affordable premium smartphone.
Obviously, there are tech-savvy people who demand flagships, but yes, there’s no denial of the fact that as smartphones are becoming better every day, high priced smartphones seem less appealing for masses. This trend has been observed since 2018 when both Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note series gave up their shares to the entry-level and mid-range smartphones.
Interestingly, in the graphs we also notice that the average selling price (ASP) of smartphones sold in South Korea did increase steadily till last year, but has declined in Q1 2020 for the first time ever, not to forget the global pandemic that is also blamed for a decline in the smartphone market.
Premium smartphone prices have increased significantly since a couple of years which gave rise to a new range i.e. the affordable premium range of smartphones. This trend in South Korea is not only refined to a country but to the world smartphone market eventually.
In days to come, we’ll see how the market fluctuates and how it shapes up… What are your thoughts? Tell us in the comments, would you buy a premium smartphone or go for an affordable premium offering?
Sources: Gizmochina
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