Global smartphone shipments grew two per cent in Q3, bucking two years of decline while Huawei posted a huge 29 per cent jump in shipments, data from Strategy Analytics revealed.
This is the first time the smartphone market has grown since Q3 2017. Strategy Analytics stated: “Worldwide demand for smartphones is recovering, due to strong pricing competition among vendors and new innovations such as larger screens and 5G connectivity.”
Smartphone manufacturers shipped over 366 million smartphones in Q3, up from 360 million in the year ago period.
Vendor breakdown
Samsung maintained pole position, shipping 78.2 million units in a year-on-year rise of eight per cent. Strategy Analytics put this down to strong sales of the Galaxy Note 10 and mid-range A Series.
Chinese vendor Huawei had the highest rate of growth this quarter, selling 66.7 million devices, up from 51.8 million (boosting its market share from 14.4 per cent to 18.2 per cent). The company’s performance surged in China to offset uncertainty in western regions where scrutiny has affected smartphone launch plans [1].
Apple declined three per cent, shipping 45.6 million iPhones but despite the drop, this quarter was Apple’s “best growth performance since last year” and the American company is “stabilising, due to cheaper iPhone 11 pricing and healthier demand across Asia and the United States”, according to Strategy Analytics.
Maintaining fourth spot was Xiaomi, but shipments declined two per cent to 32.3 million units. Xiaomi is losing ground in China and India due to fierce competition from Huawei and Realme.
Number five player Oppo shipped 29.4 million smartphones, a decline of six per cent from 31.2 million a year ago. Strategy Analytics said the company is expanding “hard into Western Europe,” with new models such as the Reno 5G launched, but is now “coming under severe pressure at home in China from a resurgent Huawei.”
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/apps-home-banner/huawei-debuts-mate-30-without-google-apps/
