“Smartphones still remain the largest segment” – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Alexander Levi tells which categories of phones are most in demand among buyers.

The Russian smartphone market grew by 15% in ten months of this year and reached 500 billion rubles. In units, this figure is at the level of 24 million units, which is 25% higher than last year’s results, representatives of M.Video-Eldorado spoke about the results of their research at the Tech Week event in Skolkovo.

Smartphones in Russia still remain the largest segment of household appliances and electronics with a share of up to 37%. And the most noticeable and attractive category within were devices of the so-called premium segment costing from 50 thousand rubles. They account for 40% of all money brought in by smartphone buyers. And in this field, over the past ten months, the number of representatives from China has almost doubled. In units, this growth was 75%.

New products with flexible displays are having a noticeable impact on the market. The initial forecasts of Counterpoint Research researchers, for example, at the end of last year were exceeded by more than four times. For nine out of ten Russians, the household name for folding models is still the Samsung brand. At the same time, almost 80% of respondents know that some Chinese manufacturers possess such technologies.

It’s interesting to apply these opinions to the history of Oppo and Samsung. The latter provided its flexible screen to the Chinese vendor. And the South Korean manufacturer believed that the drop-shaped hinge design chosen by the Chinese vendor instead of the U-shaped one was difficult to implement and did not use it itself. And the Oppo developers were able to achieve the maximum absence of creases at the fold of the display.

After testing the Find N3, I can confirm these claims. The crease in the display is barely noticeable to the eye and can hardly be felt with your fingers. We can say that the problem is solved. And manufacturers continue to address other major consumer concerns, including fragility, lack of use cases and poor ergonomics.

The results will be available soon. The leader of the Chinese market in its category in the previous generation announced the start of sales of a new series in Russia. From December 5, the Oppo Find N3 line will be available to domestic users.