Smartphone market in Saudi Arabia remained stagnant on an annual basis in Q3 2022. This comes after declines in the first two quarters of the year. It continued to be the largest market among gulf nations. Detailed analysis and estimates for key Middle East and African smartphone markets is available here from our Smartphone Country Share Tracker (SCST) Service.

Samsung continued to dominate the Saudi Arabian market and at 59%. It was the highest  in the past six quarters. The vendor has managed such dominance only in its home market of South Korea. Xiaomi, the second largest vendor also recorded the sharpest ever growth rate in market share in the country in the third quarter. Both the top two vendors grew their volumes on an annual basis too. This as the growth for majority of the vendors declined annually.

Chinese smartphone vendors grew their market share from 24% to 31% in over a year. Xiaomi being the standout, the others like OPPO, Realme, Vivo, OnePlus etc have had limited momentum.

The Saudi smartphone market is driven by Gen Z and with significant traction for mid and premium priced devices. It has witnessed increased penetration of 5G in recent times and that surge is expected to continue in the near future too. We expect the growth momentum to come back in the market in upcoming quarters triggered by events like the FIFA world cup in the region.

Which vendors are best poised to challenge Samsung as momentum returns to the Saudi Arabian market?

Can the rest of the Chinese vendors take cues from Xiaomi to grow here?

How well is Apple poised to make a comeback in Q4 2022 considering the demand for premium devices in Saudi Arabia?