Apple forecast to dominate the 5G smartphone market next year

A report from analyst firm Strategy Analytics reckons that then Apple launches its 5G iPhones next year it will immediately become the biggest 5G player.

Right now SA says Samsung has around 40% of the market and Huawei has another 30%. Apple hasn’t launched a 5G phone yet, thanks in part to it trying to get tough with 5G modem leader Qualcomm, before eventually capitulating. That’s all set to change when the next lot of iPhones gets launched, Which SA says will all be 5G enabled.

“It may seem counterintuitive that Apple, which currently has no 5G phones in its portfolio will be able to pass current 5G market leaders Samsung and Huawei,” said SA’s Ken Hyers. “But with three new 5G models coming next year, Apple merely needs to match its current upgrade rates for newly introduced iPhone models to take the lead next year.”

“Currently Samsung is the undisputed market leader in 5G smartphones,” said Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, of SA. “But with the two largest 5G markets in 2020, China and the USA, dominated by Huawei and Apple respectively, these two vendors are set to lead in 5G next year.”

Eventually, however, the balance will inevitably be restored at 5G modems find their way further down the Android product stack. “Despite the strong showing that is expected for Apple in 5G in 2020, in the longer term Samsung will regain the 5G crown,” said Hyers. As more markets cut over to 5G, Samsung will capture the majority of that share by virtue of its dominance of the overall smartphone market and a broader portfolio of 5G devices across more price-bands.”

“Huawei’s potential in 5G smartphone sales is currently limited by the US technology trade ban,” said Ukonaho. “Huawei is dominant in China and will likely remain so. But until the ban is lifted, prospects for Huawei in 5G smartphone sales elsewhere are limited. Regardless of its long-term prospects in terms of 5G smartphone marketshare. 2020 will be Apple’s time to grab bragging rights in 5G.”

Here’s the SA forecast chart, showing Apple quickly grabbing a 40% share of the 5G market and topping 50% by the end of the year. As Hyers indicated the forecasting is simply based on the historical uptake of new iPhones, which seems fair enough. If Apple decides some of its new iPhones are undeserving of a 5G modem then the things could look pretty different.