Smartphones in Israel are very expensive, with some models costing more than NIS 4,000, but still, Israelis keep buying and buying.
According to IDC data obtained by "Globes," in the first quarter of 2015, 787,630 devices were sold, compared with 657,740 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year - an increase of 20%.
iPhone sales did not disappoint: Apple led the market in the first quarter, with a market share of 32%, compared with 33% in the first quarter of 2014. This is a very impressive figure, considering that Apple offers only two new models, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, both of which are very expensive.
Samsung dropped to second place, with a market share of 31%, compared with 34% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. These sales do not include the newly released Galaxy S6, so it will be interesting to see what happens with the company's market share in the second quarter of this year.
LG is doing well in the Israeli market, thanks primarily to the success of the G2 and G3 models, which have yielded high sales for importer Ronlight. LG's market share more than doubled, from 10% to 22%. LG sold 170,000 smartphones in Israel, compared with 247,000 Samsungs, and 253,000 iPhones.
As for the other brands, HTC fans remained loyal. The market share of HTC, imported by Touch Group, held steady compared the corresponding quarter of 2014, at 4%. On the other hand, fewer Israelis purchased Sony smartphones, and Sony's market share dropped from 4% to 3%. The prevailing sense is that the Japanese company does not understand the Israeli mobile market well enough, and has priced its mobile device too high. It's possible that Sony underestimates its Korean rival, and at this rate, Sony devices are liable to disappear from the shelves.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 20, 2015
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