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Sorry OnePlus and Xiaomi, Samsung owns the 5G phone market REPORT

Samsung owns over 70% if the 5G phone market this year, according to sales figures from IHS Markit. 

According the the figures for Q3 figures, Samsung sold 3.2 million 5G smartphones, constituting a total of 74% of the global market. Though slightly down from the 83% it registered in the previous quarter, it’s obvious that Samsung has an unchallenged dominance in the new technology — at least for now. Chinese manufacturers accounted for 17% of the remaining sales, while Apple is of course nowhere to be seen, as iPhones are yet to adopt 5G.

Related: Best Phones

The South Korean brand’s range of 5G phones currently includes the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the Samsung Galaxy A90 5G. We named the first of these devices as “one of the best picks” if you were to consider upgrading to 5G in 2019, so it’s no wonder that it has sold well. We also expect that the next upcoming flagship from the brand, the Samsung Galaxy S20, will also have at least one 5G variant.

Related: Best Android Phones

Samsung’s impressive sales figures will stand it in good stead for next year, which we expect to be a very significant one for development of 5G. Qualcomm recently unveiled two new high-performing mobile chips (the Snapdragon 765 and 865) expected to be widespread in the Android market, both of which boast 5G connectivity (the former is integrated, while the latter runs with an X55 modem), and Xiaomi has already announced ambitious plans to release at least 10 smartphones boasting 5G over the course of the year. We also expect 2020 to be the year that Apple introduces 5G to its highly-anticipated iPhone 12 range, which is likely to be a strong competitor against Samsung in the battle for market dominance.

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