GfK: Western Europeans are buying more expensive smartphones

Western Europeans are buying increasingly expensive smartphones. That claims analyst firm GfK based on its own estimates. Meanwhile, a Western European spends an average of 444 euros on a smartphone.

In total, Europeans paid an average of 26 percent more for a smartphone in the first months of 2018 compared to the same months last year, GfK reports. A Western European who bought a smartphone in recent months spent an average of 444 euros on it. That was an average of 352 euros a year ago.

GfK says that increase is due to the rise of ‘ultra high-end’, the class of smartphones that have recommended prices far above 750 euros. Samsung released the Galaxy Note 8 in that segment for 999 euros, but Huawei, LG, HTC and other manufacturers also released devices with higher recommended prices than previous years. Apple took the cake with its iPhone X, which had to yield from 1159 euros at release.

Growing revenues from expensive smartphones are a global phenomenon. In total, smartphone makers earned 18 percent more than in the same period a year ago, while people bought a total of 2 percent less phones. People worldwide spent an average of around 307 euros for a telephone.