Samsung's Share Expected to Surpass 10% This Year
Samsung Electronics has achieved a nearly 10 percent share in the Japanese smartphone market on the back of the popularity of the Galaxy S10 series.
Samsung Electronics ranked second with a 9.8 percent market share (600,000 units) in the Japanese smartphone market in the second quarter of this year, Strategy Analytics (SA) said on Aug. 26. That was a 1 percentage point jump from the 8.8 percent in the same period last year and the highest in six years.
Samsung held a 10 percent share in the Japanese smartphone market in 2013. But since then, its market share had steadily declined due to Apple's iPhone. After falling to 5.6 percent in 2014, it fell to 4.3 percent in 2015 and 3.4 percent in 2016. However, it rebounded to 5.2 percent in 2017 and 6.4 percent in 2018. It is expected to surpass 10 percent this year.
The Galaxy S10 series led Samsung's charge in the Japanese smartphone market in the second quarter of this year. In March, the company opened “Galaxy Harajuku,” the largest showcase in the world targeting the Japanese smartphone market. Galaxy Harajuku displays more than 1,000 Galaxy smartphones on its walls from its basement floor to sixth floor above ground. Visitors can also try out the latest Galaxy smartphones such as the Galaxy S10 series. Samsung removed the Samsung logo from the backs of the Galaxy series as Japanese customers has low awareness of foreign smartphone brands except for the Apple iPhone.
Samsung Electronics aims to fully recover its reputation and market share in the Japanese smartphone market in line with the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To commemorate the global sports jubilee in Tokyo, the Korean smartphone giant launched the Galaxy S10 Plus Olympic Edition in Japan last month. In particular, analysts say that Samsung’s market share will swell further when 5G mobile communication services begin in Japan. Japan is regarding the opening of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as the time to begin 5G mobile services.
Apple is expected to release the iPhone 5G in the second half of next year. Samsung Electronics looks to take advantage of the absence of Apple products in the 5G handset market.
Apple ranked first in the Japanese smartphone market in the second quarter of this year. The U.S. smartphone giant also enjoyed a rise in its market share from 45.6 percent a year earlier. Following Apple and Samsung Electronics, Sharp came in third with 7.2 percent and Sony placed fourth with seven percent. Huawei, which ranked fourth with 5.9 percent in the second of last year, fell to fifth place with 3.3 percent this year.