5G devices make up the bulk of iPhone sales thanks to the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 device families. But over on the Android side, there’s a lot of room for 5G sales to grow, and a new report details the current state of the market.
Samsung is the 5G leader in the Android world
Counterpoint Research reports that Samsung led the Android 5G smartphone market in February of 2022, accounting for almost a quarter of 5G Android smartphone sales around the world. While Samsung’s cheaper smartphones are typically its best-sellers, when it comes to 5G the South Korean brand’s success can be attributed equally to both its affordable and flagship devices.
The most popular 5G smartphone from Samsung was the Galaxy A52s 5G, which in terms of price slots in below the Galaxy S series. This model also happens to be the most popular 5G Android on the planet. Counterpoint notes that it performed particularly well in Western Europe. Moreover, it had been one of the top 10 best-selling 5G Android smartphones for the previous six consecutive months, meaning it was an instant hit after launching in September.
The second-most popular 5G Android smartphone in February 2022 was the Galaxy S22 Ultra, accounting for a little under 3% of global shipments. This is especially impressive since the device didn’t start shipping until the final week of February.
Demand trends show that Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra had a strong start compared to the Galaxy S21 series, thanks to a positive reception in both the United States and Samsung’s home market of South Korea.
It wasn’t all about the flagship Galaxy S22 line, however. Samsung’s Galaxy S21 FE, which launched in January, followed in third place with a similar market share thanks to demand in Germany and the US, where sales were driven by incentives from carriers like Verizon and AT&T.
Two other devices worth mentioning are the Galaxy A32 5G and Galaxy A22 5G, which were the fourth and tenth most popular 5G Android phones overall and occupy key positions in Samsung’s budget lineup. Unsurprisingly, it’s understood that their low prices were the key selling points. Both devices performed exceptionally well in the UK, with the Galaxy A32 5G also proving popular in the US while the Galaxy A22 5G captured a nice audience in India.
Moving forward, the Galaxy A32 5G should drop off the best-sellers list as the newer Galaxy A33 5G takes over demand. However, the Galaxy A22 variant should continue to sell well as Samsung is yet to launch a 5G version of the Galaxy A23.
Oppo, Honor, Xiaomi, and Vivo are the other brands leading the 5G race
Other than Samsung, Oppo found success with the Reno 7 5G — a mid-range smartphone that also became the best-selling Android smartphone in China, regardless of connectivity. Former Huawei subsidiary Honor is another company riding the 5G wave, also thanks to the Chinese market. The Honor 60 was the sixth best-selling 5G Android and the Honor X30 occupied ninth place.
Rounding out the top 10 were the Vivo S12 and Xiaomi Redmi K40, both of which are positioned as low-end devices. Whereas Samsung seems to be focusing its 5G efforts on the European and North American smartphone markets, Oppo and others seem to be following a China-first launch strategy, with other markets like the Middle East and Europe an afterthought.
Overall, Android smartphones accounted for 67% of global 5G sales in February 2022, with the remaining 33% belonging to Apple's iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models.
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