Chinese & the US Consumers Prefer Huawei & Samsung Phones – Citigroup Survey

A Citigroup survey of 1000 consumers about smartphone sales in both the United States and China has revealed some interesting results.

Chinese Consumers Survey Findings – What they are looking for in a new Phone?

The survey found that 87% of Chinese consumers are eager to buy a new smartphone in 2019. Despite the declining shipments, this looks like a positive sign. In fact, more than 70% of Chinese smartphone users’ are willing to swap their current smartphone for a 5G smartphone. The survey has also reported almost 96% of users are aware of 5G. When asked about the features that they’re looking in a new phone, they ranked 5G first, followed by super-fast charging and wireless charging.

Despite the on-going U.S. China trade war, the Citigroup survey revealed that 84% of Chinese consumers are looking for a domestic smartphone maker than other OEMs. Almost 80% of them are very particular about Huawei. This could be the biggest problem for Apple and it’s already evident that their sales figure in China is going down.

Under the age of 50, Chinese consumers are more inclined towards purchasing an iPhone from Apple. Majority of them are more interested in Xiaomi or Samsung. Some people are also eager to buy Vivo or OPPO smartphones, both of which are homegrown brands.

The US Consumers Survey Findings – What they are looking for in a new Phone?

As per the Citigroup survey, in the United States, the scenario is entirely different. Only 59% of the people are actually planning to buy a new phone in 2019. Most buyers are eager to buy a Samsung smartphone compared to other OEMs. On the flip side, people under the age of 30 are crazy about Apple. There were only a few customers who want to buy phones from Google, LG, Motorola, and Huawei.

When asked about the features that they’re looking for in a new smartphone, the U.S. consumers wanted the super-fast charging and better water-resistant first. 5G is actually their fourth preference. In fact, only 64% of the surveyed users have reported that they have heard about 5G. Also, the awareness levels vary by gender i.e., 76% for Men, and 51% for Women.

From the survey findings, it’s very clear that Chinese and the US consumers have different needs and smartphone makers have to make sure that their new device addresses both consumers’ needs. The Citibank has also reported that it is expecting higher handset sales all around the world of 1.44 billion units in 2021 from 1.38 billion now.