By Chris Skeldon 
For the first time, global sales of 5G-enabled mobile phones exceeded sales of 4G phones in January, driven by the Chinese market, the latest network expansion and competitive prices.
5G devices reached a market penetration of 51% in January 2022, outpacing 4G mobile penetration for the first time, according to data published by consultancy Counterpoint Research, citing EFE.
By geographic region, the main growth drivers were China, Western Europe and North America.
In the case of China, China topped sales in January 2022, with 5G mobile sales at 84%, while in Western Europe and North America it was 76% and 73%, respectively.
Counterpoint found that sales of 5G devices in North America and Western Europe were boosted by the launch of Apple’s first 5G device in October 2020, the iPhone 12 series, gradually increasing sales.
On the other hand, the advisory indicates that the next areas for expansion of this technology will be Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America, where 4G continues to dominate, but 5G penetration is expected to increase thanks to the introduction of new models at a lower price. Less than 140 euros.
The consultant’s data also indicates that the rise of 5G mobile phones in the market has also been driven by the proliferation of competitively priced devices, with the introduction of ‘chips’ from MediaTek and Qualcomm bringing the cost down to the €140-230 range.
5G mobile phones priced between 140 and 230 euros represented 25% of the total sales of mobile phones with this feature in January 2022.
Counterpoint also shows that global mobile phone sales increased 4% in 2021, to exceed 1,390 million units.