The World Has Accepted 5G Phones With Open Arms; Shipments Surpass 4G Phones

It has only been three years since one of the first mainstream 5G phones -- the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G hit the market. However, this short period was enough for 5G smartphones to surpass 4G phones. According to an analyst, the shipment of 5G phones has gone beyond that of 4G phones.

A graph shared by Neil Shah, Counterpoint partner, and research vice president, shows that 5G phones accounted for 49.9% of phones that were shipped globally, just beating 4G phone shipments at 49.7%. The remaining 0.4% is accounted for by 3G phone shipments. These numbers show the market share in the second quarter of 2022.

Its official, as we have been predicting, 5G smartphones shipping more than the 4G smartphones!

just from two years since first 5G smartphone launch.#5G #inflectionpoint #smartphones #CPInsights pic.twitter.com/smdAmy7qWT

— Neil Shah (@neiltwitz) September 14, 2022

Consumers Inclined Towards Future-Ready Phones

The 5G phone shipments might have won by a slight margin, but it shows a clear shift in trend as users are ditching their old devices and buying new phones that are future-ready and can connect to 5G networks.

Besides, network carriers in the US are also pushing users to adopt 5G networks by offering top-end 5G phones at reasonable prices alongside generous promotional offers. Consumers aren’t just opting for hefty phones for the next-gen mobile networks, as 5G has slowly stretched its arms into the mid-range and budget segments as well.

Is India Witnessing Same Demand For 5G Phones?

The shift might finally be getting noticed in India as well, with the expectation that more 5G networks will be rolling out anytime now. Reliance Jio has already announced its 5G services in the country. According to Cybermedia Research, 5G phones are already on the rise in India. The shipments of 5G phones grew 7% quarter-on-quarter and 163% YoY in the second quarter of 2022.

Samsung is leading the way in the Indian 5G smartphone market, grabbing 28% share, followed by Vivo with a 15% market share. Several phones launched in the country in the past couple of years have offered 5G as a standard feature, but still, there’s a long list of phones that are devoid of the feature.

That said, the overall 5G smartphone shipments in India will certainly witness an uptake as more telecom players are set to deploy their 5G networks soon.