Samsung Electronics Regains No.1 Spot in Southeast Asia Phone Market... But Chinese Companies Close Behind

Samsung Electronics has regained its leading position in the Southeast Asian smartphone market thanks to the launch effect of the Galaxy S24 series. However, due to fierce competition from Chinese companies, both shipment volume and market share have actually declined compared to a year ago.

Galaxy S24 Series Reference Photo

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According to market research firm Canalys on the 7th, smartphone shipments in five Southeast Asian countries?Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia?reached 7.26 million units in January this year, a 20% increase from January last year.

Samsung Electronics shipped 1.5 million units, achieving the highest market share of 20%, boosted by the launch effect of the Galaxy S24 series.

This marks the recovery of the top spot that Samsung had lost to Chinese company Transsion in December last year. Canalys analyzed that the overall economic recovery in Southeast Asia and increased interest in Galaxy AI (artificial intelligence) acted as favorable factors.

Xiaomi followed with 18%, Transsion with 15%, Oppo with 15%, and Vivo with 12%, chasing Samsung Electronics.

However, looking solely at growth trends, Samsung Electronics appears to be lagging behind Chinese companies.

In the Southeast Asian market, Samsung Electronics’ smartphone shipments in January decreased by 11% compared to January last year, and its market share also dropped by 7 percentage points (from 27% in January last year) during the same period.

In contrast, during the same period, Xiaomi grew rapidly by 128%, and Transsion by 190%, posing a threat to Samsung Electronics. At the individual country level, Oppo ranked first in shipments in Indonesia, the largest smartphone market in Southeast Asia, while Transsion took the top spot in the Philippines, the second-largest market.

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