OnePlus surpasses Google in the US smartphone market for the last quarter of 2021

According to Counterpoint Research, the US smartphone market posted a growth of approximately 0% in 4Q2021. While the sector might count itself lucky not to see a contraction instead, it has good excuses, a lack of supply at the premium end included.

Despite this, Apple has secured the #1 spot with 57% of all sales in the US during 4Q2021. This is based on demand for the iPhone 13 series (especially its Pro variants), many units of which reportedly were on back-order throughout December.

Similarly, Samsung's performance in this market has been held back, thanks to a dearth of Galaxy S21-series units to sell and the fact the long-awaited S21 FE took so long to launch. Nevertheless, the OEM came in at 2nd in terms of sales - followed by a new strong contender in the market, Motorola.

The OEM saw unprecedented growth in the US market in 4Q2021, rocketing to a 9% share of the market in a manner probably related to the vacuum left by LG's exit. Motorola may also owe its new-found success to a wide range of affordable handsets; for example, the Moto G Pure was found to be 1 of the top 3 smartphones in terms of sales in 4Q2021.

OnePlus also posted an impressive growth of 524% YoY, attributed to the success of the Nord series, now found in Walmart as well as with carriers such as T-Mobile. Therefore, not even Google could beat the brand into 5th place (behind TCL's retail stalwart brand Alcatel), despite a 56% growth based on the launch of the Pixel 6 series.

Looking to the next quarter on, Counterpoint Research forsees little potential for growth in the US smartphone market. It may continue to see pressure thanks to factors such as the impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, prevailing supply-chain issues and inflation in the near future.

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