The market stood at more than EUR1 billion, according to the local representatives of South Korea’s Samsung, the smartphone market leader in Romania and in the world.
“The smartphone market performed in line with expectations last year, growing by 9% in volume and 27% in value. It is only natural that it grew more in value, considering more and more people are choosing mid and high-end smartphones,” Cristian Cojocaru, head of the telecom division of Samsung Romania, said.
Mid and high-end smartphones currently account for about 50% of the local smartphone market by value and 20% by volume, he added. The premium segment, where competitors are Samsung, Apple and more recently Huawei, accounts for 35% of the market by value and about 10% to 12% by volume in Romania. The premium segment consists of smartphones with a price tag of at least about EUR600 and the middle segment phones start at more than EUR400.
The local smartphone market has gone up from 3.5 million units in 2015 to 4.5 million units in 2017, but almost doubled in value from some EUR585 million to more than EUR1 billion. Smartphone penetration reached about 65% last year.
(English version by loredana Fratila-Cristescu)