According to a Fitch Ratings report released Tuesday, Apple Inc. could lose a quarter of its smartphone market share by next year amid intensifying competition from emerging markets.
The ratings firm also said South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. could lose as much as 14% of its smartphone market share for the same reason.
Apple and Samsung’s smartphone shipment volume is expected to stagnate around 450 million to 460 million units this year despite a forecasted industrywide increase of about 20% to 1.2 billion units, the report went on to say. This comes as handset makers in emerging markets like China and India produce less-advanced devices that are far cheaper than those offered by industry heavyweights. Fitch says the more basic devices retail anywhere from $100 to $300, as opposed to new iPhone and Galaxy devices that run closer to $600 without subsidies.
“We believe growth will come largely from emerging markets,” the report stated.
Fitch also said Apple’s iPhone 6, expected to launch this fall, is “unlikely to change the trend.”
