Counterpoint Research: Over 5 Million 5G Smartphones Will Be Sold In The US This Year

More 5G devices and carrier competition will drive sales.

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Jul 03, 2019, 09:17 ET

SAN DIEGO and BUENOS AIRES, Argentina and LONDON and NEW DELHI and HONG KONG and BEIJING and SEOUL, South Korea, July 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Counterpoint Research estimates that US 5G smartphone sales will exceed five million units in 2019 as carriers ramp their 5G networks and device portfolios. Global 5G smartphone sales will reach 22 million units, according to our estimates. Overall, the US will lead the market in 5G smartphone sales, followed by China.

Speaking about US sales, Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director at Counterpoint Research said, "Currently, 5G smartphone sales are limited as the LG V50 and the Samsung S10 5G are the only devices available. The mmWave supporting Samsung S10 5G was exclusive to Verizon until the end of June, but all major carriers have launched it now. H2 2019 will see a sharp increase in 5G smartphone sales as carriers expand their coverage and more 5G devices launch. Expansion in mmWave capable devices will be key for growth as consumers will see the dramatic speed increases over LTE."

Except for Apple, all major OEMs such as Samsung, LG, Motorola, ZTE, and OnePlus will sell 5G smartphones in H2 2019. Fieldhack added, "We believe Apple will not have a 5G capable iPhone available until 2020. If Apple had launched a 5G device this year, we believe that the US market size for 5G would have been at least 60% higher than the current estimate."

Research Analyst, Maurice Klaehne said, "Initially we thought there would be a high concentration of 5G smartphone sales where there is 5G coverage. However, our research indicates that 5G smartphones are being bought all across the country. This trend will likely increase as consumers seek to future-proof their purchase for the next several years."

Elaborating on global 5G roll-outs, Tom Kang, Research Director, added, "We are cautious on our forecast, but we think 5G will have a faster roll-out than 4G LTE. Looking back at LTE, only the US and Korea deployed LTE in the first six months; Europe and China started one year later. Globally, the ramp-up will be faster because there is a universal standard for 5G. Operators in the US, China, Europe, and Korea will all be launching within the same 12-month period."

Analyst Contacts:
Jeff Fieldhack
+1 858 603 2703
[email protected]

Tom Kang
+82 10 28748133
[email protected]

SOURCE Counterpoint Research