According to a report by Counterpoint Research, global sales of budget smartphones (sub-$ 150 wholesale price) saw a robust recovery in second quarter (Q2) of 2024 surpassing 100 million units with a ten per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth. This growth drove budget smartphones to contribute 37 per cent of global smartphone sales in Q2 2024. The recovery was largely driven by emerging markets, which contributed to three-fourths of the total sales volume in this segment.
The report mentioned that another factor contributing to this growth was the trend of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) integrating high-end smartphone features faster into affordable devices. This trend reflects the overall maturity of the smartphone industry.
As per the report, the top ten best-selling budget smartphones accounted for one-fourth of the budget segment in Q2 2024, up from 21 per cent in Q2 2023. The number of active budget smartphone models decreased to just over 1,500 in Q2 2024, nearly half compared to Q2 2018. This trend highlights market consolidation in the budget segment as OEMs focus on leaner portfolios and consumers prefer recognised brands.
The report highlighted that the top ten budget smartphones list in Q2 2024, was dominated by Xiaomi, Samsung and OPPO, taking three spots each. The remaining spot was taken by TECNO. The best-selling budget smartphone was the Xiaomi Redmi 13C 4G, followed by Samsung Galaxy A05 and A15 4G. These models’ widespread popularity across regions, coupled with an attractive balance of specifications and features, propelled them to the top of rankings.
It also mentioned that the budget smartphone segment is experiencing a notable shift toward 5G, with 5G devices representing 24 per cent of the market in Q2 2024, a volume increase of 2.5 times annually. Further, India and China are the leading contributors to this growth, with 5G becoming a standard feature in the budget segment of these markets. As 5G becomes more affordable, the sub-$150 segment will see significant growth, with OEMs using 5G as a key differentiator.
