Apple has been the foremost manufacturer and seller of Premium Smartphone for quite some time now. The multi-trillion dollar tech juggernaut ended 2023 with yet another win, retaining 71% of the market share. In spite of the fact that this is the case, this was a four point decrease from the 75% it held last year with all things having been considered and taken into account.

This seems to suggest that Apple’s previously insurmountable dominance in this arena appears to be fading somewhat. The culprit? Foldable smartphones.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Samsung’s share increased to 17% from 16%, Huawei saw an increase from 3% to 5% and Mi doubled its market share to reach 2% in the same period. Galaxy’s flip phones have been giving Apple some stiff competition, but Huawei’s growth may be the result of its Mate 60 Series.

This new line of smartphones has breathed new life into the struggling company. This development is pertinent because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up decreasing Apple’s prominence and giving Huawei more firepower down the line.

Premium smartphones have proven to be uniquely resilient to market pressures. They’ve seen a 6% uptick year over year in 2023, all while other types of smartphones didn’t see all that much of an increase.

Analysts are theorizing that consumers are willing to spend the big bucks on smartphones due to how necessary they tend to be. High end devices last longer than midrange ones, thereby making them a more long term purchase than might have been the case otherwise. There’s also something to be said of the status symbol that smartphones represent. Consumers are looking to splurge in a display of conspicuous consumption, and this is raising the premium smartphone industry to unprecedented heights.

Interestingly, much of this growth is coming from Asia. Based on data provided by Counterpoint, India is the single fastest growing market for smartphones in the world. China is also an immense driver of growth, and Huawei’s win in the region may very well end up putting Apple’s dominance in jeopardy in the near to distant future if the current trends persist.