every other one is from China, the ruler is still Samsung – SMARTmania.cz

• A new survey by GfK revealed the situation on the Czech phone market
• The top three positions are still held by Samsung, Xiaomi and Apple
• It is interesting in the lower ranks, where promising Chinese brands are fighting

According to market research by the GfK agency, the South Korean Samsung clearly reigns supreme in the Czech Republic for the first quarter of this year. The American Apple still has its share, but just as six months ago, predatory Chinese brands such as Honor and Vivo, as well as lesser-known brands such as Infinix and Doogee, are coming to the fore.

The eternal trio of Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple

Since the second half of last year, no manufacturer has managed to disrupt the standard triumvirate of manufacturers on the Czech market. According to GfK data, the rankings are dominated by Samsung, which sold 264,000 phones between January and March 2024 and holds a 41.2% share. It is worth noting that the total number of mobile phones sold in the mentioned period amounted to 640,354 units.

No one will just shake the Korean from the first place, because the second Xiaomi has roughly half the sales. In the first quarter of this year, the largest Chinese company managed to sell 142,000 phones on the Czech market, traditionally the most units are from the Redmi model range. While 126,000 of these cheaper phones were sold, only 9,000 of Xiaomi’s flagship smartphones were sold.

As expected, the third manufacturer on the Czech market is Apple. The latter slightly increased the number of units sold year-on-year, holding a 17.3% share for 120,000 phones sold. As in the last quarter of last year, Apple is doing very stable here: it sells 35-45 thousand phones per month.

For comparison, the Statcounter agency shares data between March 2023 and 2024. According to its research, Apple and Samsung have roughly the same 25-26% market share, while the third Xiaomi holds a 21.5% share.

China has the rest

With a bit of exaggeration, one could say that the rest of the market is being taken apart by Chinese manufacturers. The loudest is Motorola – originally an American brand, today owned by the Chinese Lenovo. With a 4.9% market share, Motorola is warming up to the 4th potato position. Like last quarter, this time too it manages to sell 9-10 thousand phones per month.

The pair of Chinese brands Infinix and Honor are also fighting for the fifth place several months apart. Both hold roughly a 2.5% market share, but Honor benefited much more from Christmas and the January post-Christmas shopping spree. Since the beginning of the year, it has sold almost 29 thousand devices, Infinix only 14.5 thousand units.

However, in March, Infinix managed to jump its juice again, selling 4900 mobile phones (Honor only 4729 units). Thanks to the fact that the relatively new Chinese manufacturer took advantage of Honor’s hesitation, it can currently boast the 5th position among phone manufacturers on the Czech market.

A disappointment and a surprise

The remaining producers on the Czech market do not even reach a 1% share. The star exception is Vivo, which sold almost 2,000 devices on our market in March. It was enough for Viva not to fall into the “other” category in the ranking. Even so, the year-on-year decrease is clear: between January and March 2023, sales amounted to 11.5 thousand units, this year only less than 8 thousand.

The other sections are practically not worth talking about. The top ten is rounded out by the Chinese Realme and Doogee, as well as the American Google. The latter is rising slightly, in this period he was able to sell 2.3 thousand mobile phones. He too maintains a level of 700-900 units sold per month, not counting the Christmas season.

However, his time will probably come. At the end of March, Android Authority reported that Google is expanding its targeting of some markets with the new Pixel 8a model, with Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic expected to be added as well. Until now, Pixel phones have not been available on the Czech market with official Google support.

However, the current market research by GfK shows a clear trend. Czech customers are happy to pay extra for quality (Samsung and Apple), but in general they wish a lot for Chinese manufacturers. For comparison: Samsung holds a share of 41.2%, as already mentioned, while all Chinese companies have a combined share of our market of 39%.

Author of the article

Jakub Fischer

Journalist, fan of modern technology, summer months and Asian food. I like Lynch movies, Pollock paintings, french house and Arsenal football club. In my spare time, I play PlayStation and go jogging.