Global smartphone shipments soared 12% year-over-year to reach 288.9 million units in the second quarter of 2024, marking the third consecutive quarter of growth. According to market research firm Canalys, the industry is experiencing a resurgence driven by innovative product launches and improving economic conditions.

Samsung Solidifies Lead as Market Exceeds Expectations

Samsung solidified its position as the market leader with a 18% share, shipping 53.5 million units. The company’s high-end devices continue to drive revenue growth. Apple held onto the second spot with 45.6 million units shipped, demonstrating strong performance in both North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Xiaomi is closing in on Apple, securing the third position with 42.3 million units shipped. The Chinese tech giant’s competitive product lineup has fueled its rapid growth. Xiaomi also reclaimed the top spot in India’s smartphone market in Q2 2024, capturing an 18% market share. Vivo reclaimed the fourth spot with 25.9 million units, while Transsion who make Tecno and Infinix branded smartphones rounded out the top five with 25.5 million units shipped.

While the overall market is on an upward trajectory, challenges loom ahead. Component shortages, particularly for high-end features like large displays and advanced cameras, are starting to impact production costs. This could put pressure on brands targeting the mass market. Additionally, maintaining a competitive edge will become increasingly difficult as the market matures.

To stay ahead, industry leaders are focusing on differentiating their offerings. Samsung and Apple are prioritizing long-term strategies in established markets while emphasizing generative AI features in their flagship devices. Chinese brands are also investing heavily in AI technology to compete in the high-end segment.

As the smartphone market continues to evolve, consumers can expect to see more AI-powered features, advanced camera systems, and larger, more immersive displays. However, the rising cost of components could lead to higher prices for premium devices.

(Source)

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The global smartphone market has started showing signs of recovery. As per data from the IDC’s worldwide quarterly mobile phone tracker as well as research firm Canalys, the smartphone market recorded an 8.5 percent year-on-year growth compared to the same period last year. Notably, Apple bagged the award for being the top smartphone vendor globally breaking Samsung’s 13-year unbeaten streak. The data reveals a lot of key information. Read on to know everything below. 

Global smartphone shipments show signs of recovery

The global smartphone shipments declined by 3.2 percent year-on-year basis. However, on the brighter side, sales reached 326 million units in Q4, 2023 compared to 300 million units in Q4, 2022. This is after seven consecutive quarters of decline. 

Apple dominated the entire smartphone market for the first time the entire year as well as in Q4. It shipped 80.5 million units in the fourth quarter while for the full 2023, the company shipped 234 million units. The Cupertino-based tech giant had a 20.1 percent market share in 2023. Samsung came in second with close to 226 million shipments and 19.4 percent market share. The South Korean brand shipped 53 million units in Q4, 2023. In terms of overall shipments last year, Xiaomi bagged the third spot with a 12.5 percent market share while OPPO and Transsion came fourth and fifth with market shares of 8.8 and 8.1 percent respectively. 

In Q4 shipments, Transsion bagged the fourth spot with 28.2 million sales and 8.6 percent market share and recorded a whooping 68 percent YoY growth. Vivo made it to the fifth list with 24.1 million units sold and a 7.4 percent share. Samsung’s shipments in Q4 dropped by 10 percent compared to the same period last year. 

Based on year-on-year performance, only Apple and Transsion clocked positive growth gaining 3.7 and 30.8 percent respectively. 

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Last week, IDC reported a decline in global smartphone shipments in the second quarter of this year. Now as per the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse service, the smartphone market also declined globally in Q2, 2023 i.e the period from April to June. It also marked the eighth consecutive quarter of year-on-year decline. The shipments dipped by 8 percent YoY and 5 percent QoQ basis during the second quarter. Read on to know more below. 

Global smartphone shipments fall in Q2, 2023

As per the Counterpoint data, all markets experienced a decline in smartphone sales. However, the most significant drops were in developed countries like the US, Western Europe, and Japan with double-digit declines. On the contrary, China, India, the Middle East, and Africa recorded a smaller decline in shipments. The reason for the contraction in smartphone shipments is attributed to longer replacement cycles, innovation convergence, and a growing demand for refurbished devices. 

As per the data from Counterpoint, all OEMs recorded negative year-on-year growth. Vivo declined 17 percent followed by Xiaomi and Samsung with 12 percent. Apple and OPPO had the lowest decline in terms of growth with 2 and 3 percent respectively. 

In the second quarter of 2023, Samsung led the market with 22 percent share followed by Apple with 17 percent share. Xiaomi was third in the list with a 12 percent market share whereas OPPO and Vivo bagged the fourth and fifth spots. The report adds that Samsung benefited from the strong performance of Galaxy A-series globally whereas Xiaomi sought growth in other markets beyond China and India. 

Although the global market declined for the eighth straight quarter, there was a silver lining. The premium segment (wholesale price above $600) continued to grow due to consumers seeking superior experience and accessible financing options. Nearly 20 percent of smartphones falling in this category were sold. Apple capitalized on this trend and recorded 50 percent YoY growth in India. 

Counterpoint Research expects a market recovery in the upcoming quarters due to healthy inventory levels, newer models, and consumer upgrades. 

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Gartner has just released a new report that projected the worldwide shipments of the total devices, which includes PCs, tablets, and smartphones. This report revealed that the negative trend and decline of the smartphone market will continue in 2023 as well. So here are all the details.

Just a while back, we had covered another report that revealed that the global smartphone shipments had fallen by 11.3 percent year on year in 2022. However, it appears that this trend might continue to this year as well. The report from Gartner states that the smartphone shipments will decline by 4 percent in this year. On the other hand, the worldwide device shipments are also expected to fall by 4.4 percent overall.

According to Ranjit Atwal, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, “The depressed economic market will continue to dampen demand for devices throughout 2023. In fact, end user spending on devices is projected to decline 5.1 percent in 2023. Just as business confidence was beginning to recover after the worst of the pandemic, it has now fallen significantly in most regions. We do not expect relief from inflation and the bottom of the recession to occur until the fourth quarter of 2023.”

This downward trend affects every categories including the PC, tablet, and not just the mobile phone. The former will see a 6.8 percent shipments, while the latter will have a 2.9 percent decline this year. In other words, the market expectations are quite pessimistic for this year as well.

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(Source)

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The global smartphone shipments saw a massive decline in the holiday quarter in 2022. This drop was the largest ever recorded in the market, with the overall shipments last year also saw a sizeable decline. So here are all the details.

According to a new report, the worldwide smartphone shipments saw a significant decline of 18.3 percent year on year in the fourth and final quarter of 2022. On the other hand, the overall market fell by a notable 11.3 percent as well last year. In Q4 2022, the market saw over 300 million shipments of handsets, down from 367.6 million units shipped back in 2021. Interestingly, Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi took the top 3 spot on this list. However, most top brands saw a notable decline during this period.

The iPhone maker saw a near 15 percent fall year on year in Q4 2022, while Samsung also saw an almost 16 percent decline. Similarly, Xiaomi faced an even deeper dive of 26.3 percent in Q4 2022. In other words, most brands suffered during this time. A similar trend can also be seen in the smartphone market in the whole of 2022. Shipments in the global market fell to 1.2 billion units in 2022 from 1.359 billion units that were shipped in 2021.

As per IDC, despite hefty sales and promotional events, various issues caused the decline of the smartphone market. There were a number of problems faced by the industry, with supply chain difficulties as China faced lockdowns due to the viral outbreak. Furthermore, customers also faced rising cost and inflation, while the overall economic conditions also worsened. Thus, shipments slowed down last year, especially in the final three months.

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(Source)

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A new report has just revealed the market share of brands for the global smartphone shipments for the third quarter of this year. This information has shared that Samsung Electronics is still in the lead.

According to a Counterpoint Research report, the global smartphone market grew by 6 percent quarter on quarter but saw a modest decline of 6 percent year on year. During Q3 2021, the market shipped a total of 342 million units, which is down from 265.5 million from last year. However, the South Korean tech giant managed to retain its spot on the throne with a sizeable 20 percent market share during this quarter, shipping 69.3 million units.

Meanwhile, Apple came in second with a market share of 14 percent. The Cupertino based company shipped around 48 million units during this time, marking a notable 15 percent growth over the same period last year. Counterpoint credits this growth to the “persistent” growth of the iPhone 12 series and the launch of the latest iPhone 13 series. Similarly, Xiaomi followed close behind with a 13 percent market share in Q3 2021.

Although, its shipments dropped by 5 percent year on year and 15 percent quarter on quarter, hitting 44.4 million units in the third quarter of this year. The company saw the slight fall likely due to the ongoing component shortage and supply issues. On the other hand, Realme saw its highest ever shipments in Q3 2021, shipping 16.2 million units. This marked a record quarterly performance that arrived despite the globe suffering from a lack of semiconductors.

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International Data Corporation (IDC) has today released a new research report revealing mobile phone market shipments for the third quarter of this year, i.e. Q3 2021. The report reveals that 331.2 million units were shipped in the third quarter, representing a 6.7 percent decline year-on-year.

The numbers are worse than the analysts’ expectations of a 2.9 percent decline for Q3 2021. The report is citing the global supply chain issues, shortage of components, and seasonal factors as the primary reasons for the decline.

The report further adds that the regions like Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan and China) saw the largest year-on-year decline of -23.2 percent and -11.6 percent.

However, markets like the United States, Western Europe, and China saw an overall decline of -0.2 percent, -4.6 percent, and -4.4 percent respectively. This is because these regions are valued more by the suppliers.

South Korean giant Samsung remains the market leader with shipments of 69 million units, covering 20.8 percent of the market share in the third quarter of this year. The company witnessed a decline of 14.2 percent year-on-year in Q3 2021.

Apple takes the second spot with 50.4 million shipments and a 15.2 percent market share, registering a 20.8 percent year-on-year increase. Xiaomi, the Chinese brand, shipped 44.3 million units, capturing a 13.4 percent market share and registering a 4.6 percent drop.

Vivo and OPPO tied for the fourth position, with shipments of 33.3 million units and 33.2 million units, respectively, with market shares of 10.1% and 10.0%. The shipments for Vivo grew by 5.8% year-on-year, while OPPO‘s shipments increased by 8.6% year-on-year at the end of the third quarter.

Counterpoint Research recently released a report for the smartphone shipments in the Chinese market, which witnessed 76.5 million shipments in Q3 2021, a 9 percent year-on-year decline, and a 3 percent month-on-month increase.

In the Chinese market, Vivo leads with a 23 percent market share, while OPPO grabs the second spot with a 20 percent market share. Honor and Xiaomi are in the third and fourth position with 15 percent and 14 percent market share, respectively.

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A new report has revealed that the global smartphone market is expected to see a growth in shipments this year. The projected growth is around 12 percent, with total shipment figures reaching 1.4 bllion units.

According to a Canalys report, the growth in smartphone shipments is indicative of the strong recovery of the market from last year. During 2020, the shipments of handset fell by 7 percent due to the severe market constraints caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. But with the world recovering from the pandemic and vaccines being rolled out, the issue with supply of components will emerge as the new bottleneck for the smartphone industry.

As per Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton, “The smartphone industry’s resilience is quite incredible.” He further added that “There is strong momentum behind 5G handsets, which accounted for 37% of global shipments in Q1, and are expected to account for 43% for the full year (610 million units). This will be driven by intense price competition between vendors, with many sacrificing other features, such as display or power, to accommodate 5G in the cheapest device possible. By the end of the year, 32% of all 5G devices shipped will have cost less than US$300. It is time for mass adoption.”

Although, the supply constraints for components wil limit the grwoth potential of smartphone shipments this year. For those unaware, the world is suffering from a major shortage of semiconductors and certain component materials at the moment. This has led to a build of backorders and “The industry is fighting for semiconductors, and every brand will feel the pinch,” Stanton added.

Canalys VP of Mobility Nicole Peng stated that “The other angle to this is pricing. As key components, such as chipsets and memory, increase in price, smartphone vendors must decide whether to absorb that cost or pass it on to consumers.” Furthermore, the report added that the pandemic even caused permanent changes in the market, with channels transforming having to adapt or die during the pandemic.

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The global smartphone shipments are expected to reach 650 million units in the first half of this year, with the first and second quarter likely registering double digit growth year on year.

According to a DigiTimes report, the overall shipments for handsets in 2021 will rise by 6.4 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 1.32 billion units. Furthermore, the market leaders for the first half of 2021 will include Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, in the top 5 spots. These tech giants are expected to have seen ‘robust’ growth in the first half, with Xiaomi in particular nearly doubling its shipments year on year.

The report further added that it is projected that the 5G smartphone shipments will reach around 500 to 520 million units in 2021. This would mark a significant surge of about 70 to 80 percent over last year. Notably, the Cupertino based vendor, Apple, is expected to lead this segment of the market. On the other hand, the foldable handset segment is also expected to reach 18 to 20 million units this year.

While South Korea’s Samsung is projected to hold the top spot in this category, its market share in this segment is expected to fall below 40 percent this year. Keep in mind, this is just a market projection at the moment. However, it does offer an interesting look at how the smartphone market is recovering post the Coronavirus pandemic that caused the industry to slow down back in 2020.

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The global smartphone market in this year is expected to record its highest levels of growth since 2015. Shipments are projected to reach 1.38 billion units this year, marking a rise of 7.7 percent over last year.

According to an IDC report, the positive trend is expected to continue forward into the next year as well, with an expected year on year growth of 3.8 percent. The projected shipments for this period are said to be a total of 1.43 billion units. The report adds that this arrives as the world shifts towards 5G networking and 5G enabled handsets, while also retaining strong demand for low end and mid range 4G smartphones following last year’s pandemic that led to a decline in sales.

As per Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC, “2021 will represent the largest year-over-year growth the market has witnessed since 2015, as the shift towards 5G across all price tiers continues to accelerate. The 5G shift will also deliver peak smartphone ASPs in 2021 ($376, up 9.7% year over year) when compared to the remainder of the forecast period as costly 5G devices continue to replace LTE devices, which are also starting to drop in price, down 27% in 2021.”

Similarly, Ryan Reith, program vice president at IDC, added that “Smartphones are seeing competition for consumer spending from adjacent markets like PCs, tablets, TVs, and smart home devices, yet that hasn’t slowed the market’s path to recovery. The smartphone market returned to growth during the holiday quarter last year and since then we’ve only seen production from top suppliers ramp up. There continues to be a strong supply-side push toward 5G, and price points continue to drop as a result.”

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A new report has revealed that the global smartphone shipments has seen a significant rise in the first quarter of this year. Shipments have reached about 340 million units in total, marking a growth of 24 percent year on year with Samsung leading the industry in terms of shipments.

According to BusinessWire, a Strategy Analytics report revealed that the industry has seen an immense rise in shipments in Q1 2021, which is the highest growth since 2015. This is likely due to the pent up demand following 2020, with the market rebounding along with the 5G handset market seeing an impressive growth thanks to Chinese manufacturers. Linda Sui, Senior Director, at Strategy Analytics stated that “China smartphone shipments were up +35% YoY reaching 94 million units in Q1 2021. Globally, the top five vendors combined took a 76% market share in Q1 2021, up from 71% one year ago.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, also added that “Samsung remains the largest vendor shipping 77 million smartphones globally in the first quarter, growing +32% YoY from 58 million units in Q1 2020. Samsung’s newly launched more affordable A series 4G and 5G phones, and the earlier launched Galaxy S21 series combined drove solid performance in the quarter. Apple shipped 57 million units iPhones worldwide, capturing second place with a 17% volume market share. The strong momentum behind the 5G iPhone 12 series continued across multiple markets.”

This news arrives amid a global shortage of semiconductors, which has affected various industries across the world. Although, the shortage of chips did not impact the smartphone market during the first quarter of this year. Furthermore, the top 5 vendors accounted for 76 percent of the global market share during the same period, which is also up from 71 percent from last year.

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The global smartphone production is expected to reach 342 million units in the first quarter of this year, which marks a 25 percent rise year on year but a slight decline of 6 percent quarter on quarter.

According to a TrendForce report, the report arrives amid high sales of the iPhone 12 series in the last quarter, which also had Huawei drastically lose its market share due to US sanctions. Despite the decline, the quarter is estimated to record strong performance considering the first quarter usually sees a quarter on quarter decline of around 20 percent following the fourth and final quarter, which is usually the peak season of the year since demand falls.

The smartphone production for Q4 2020 is estimated to be around 364 million units, with Apple being expected to be the leader in terms of production volume. While the high end premium segment saw a decline in 2020, the Cupertino based giant still managed to push through “the headwinds and capture market share by introducing 5G models and adopting an aggressive pricing strategy,” as per the report.  Apple produced 77.6 million units of iPhones in Q4 2020, marking an 85 percent increase quarter on quarter.

Furthermore, the company managed to retain its lead even in the first quarter of 2021, followed by Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Vivo, as per the report. Samsung is expected to see a decline of 14 percent during this period, with its smartphone shipments estimated to fall to 67 million units in Q4 2020. The primary reason for the decline was the launch of new iPhone models that dominated the holiday season. Although, we can expect the momentum to slow down for Apple following this quarter.

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Smartphone shipments across the globe is expected to grow by nearly 50 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, reaching up to 340 million units in Q1 2021. The primary reason for the rise includes surging iPhone 12 series shipments along with Chinese brands competing to take over Huawei‘s market share.

According to a DigiTimes report, the Cupertino based giant’s market share are expected to reach over 60 million units in the first quarter of this year, despite it also seeing shipments reaching over 90 million units just a quarter prior. Apple is also likely to be the top vendor for the sixth month period that ends on 31st March 2021, having its total shipments reach 150 million units. This also marks a rise of 38 percent from the same period from a year ago.

On the other hand, Samsung Electronics is expected to rank second for the same six months period, with its shipments reaching somewhere between 60 to 65 million units for both the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, Xiaomi is expected to arrive third with its shipments for the same six month period totaling just 90 million units. Although, this still marks a rise of over 80 percent over the same period from a year prior.

During this time, Huawei is projected to ship less than 20 million handset units, arriving sixth in the global rankings in the first quarter of this year. Furthermore, the global shipments of 5G enabled devices are expected to reach over 600 million units in 2021, which is more than double of the 280 million units that shipped last year. Apple, Huawei, and Samsung were the top three 5G handset vendors in 2020 with a combined market share crossing 70 percent.

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According to the latest report coming from Gartner, the worldwide sale of smartphones to end-users could total around 1.5 billion units by the end of this year. This indicates a growth of about 11.4 percent over the last year.

Smartphone sales declined by 10.5 percent in 2020, mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic but now they are forecast to rebound. The report adds that markets like Western Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific are expected to exhibit the strongest growth.

The combination of delayed smartphone replacements and the availability of lower end 5G smartphones are poised to increase smartphone sales in 2021, claims Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner.

With 5G communication technology going mainstream, 5G smartphones with a starting price of $200 are expected to steer demand in mature markets and China. While in developing nations, the primary focus of buyers will be the specifications and the 5G network support will be optional and lack of it won’t be a dealbreaker.

Further, Gartner forecasts sales of 5G smartphones will total 539 million units worldwide in 2021, which will represent around 35 percent of total smartphone sales in the year. This is mostly because 5G has become a standard feature for premium phones in countries like U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea.

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The global shipments of smartphones saw a noticeable decline of 8.8 percent in 2020 as per a new report. During this period, handset shipments only reached 1.24 billion units with the primary cause of the decline being the Coronavirus pandemic.

According to a DigiTimes report, the viral outbreak had seemingly crippled the market. Although, despite the overall decline of smartphone shipments, the 5G enabled handsets saw a significant rise, reaching 280 to 300 million units in shipments last year. This is up from just 20 million units from back in 2019, marking an upwards of ten fold growth in a single year.

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During the first quarter of 2020, smartphone shipments worldwide fell by over 20 percent year on year. The double digit decline fell rapidly by the second quarter and the market recovered further in the third, which only faced a single digit dip in shipments. Notably, the fourth and final quarter saw a single digit rise in shipments, marking the pent up demand for smartphones from consumers from across the globe.

The DigiTimes research report also added that in 2020, the top six major brands in the market included Samsung Electronics, Apple, Huawei Technologies, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo. Between all of these OEMs, Apple and Xiaomi managed to raise their respective shipments by over 10 percent on a year on year basis. On the other hand, brands like Samsung and Huawei faced a double digit decline in shipments during the same period.

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According to the latest report published by DigiTimes Research, global smartphone shipments are expected to witness double-digit growth in the year 2021 after three consecutive years of decline.

The report adds that shipment in the upcoming year could grow by 150 million units, mainly because of the acceleration of 5G operations in several regions, including the USA, Western Europe, and Japan.

It also estimates that the entry-level 5G smartphones, as well as 4G smartphones, will drive the demand in the emerging markets. The report adds that these devices are expected to reach over 1.5 billion units in 2023 and 1.7 billion units in 2025.

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Further, the report goes on to claim that Samsung and Apple will secure the top positions in the year 2021 in terms of smartphone shipments. These companies will be followed by Chinese brands OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Huawei, which is currently the leading smartphone company in China, will slip to seventh position globally, as per the estimate.

Digitimes Research also expects global shipments of 5G smartphones to reach over 200 million units in 2020 and to expand to over 1.22 billion units in 2025.

Recently, Canalys predicted in its latest forecast report that in 2020, global 5G smartphone shipments will reach 278 million units. It also added that in 2020, smartphone shipments will drop by 10.7 percent compared to 2019, and it is expected to rebound in 2021, with a year-on-year growth of 9.9 percent.

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Gadgets like Smartphones, tablets are the need of the hour particularly when users are still studying and working from home. However, the global smartphone market faced a decline due to COVID-19 problems when compared to 2019. It will likely revive only by 2022. Accordingly, a recent report by Counterpoint indicates that the wholesale Average Selling Price(ASP) of the global smartphone market increased by 10% despite a decline in shipments.

As per the report, regions like APAC, China, Europe, MEA, North America contributed to the overall 10% YoY increase in ASP in Q2 2020. However, Latin America is the only country where ASP decreased YoY by 5%. Although COVID had an impact on the overall market, the premium segment didn’t slope down aggressively. It faced only an 8% decline YoY compared to the overall market decline. That said, the reason for this less economic impact on premium smartphone users.

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Accordingly, Counterpoint says that Apple gained the most with a 3% YoY increase in shipments and 2% YoY in iPhone revenue. Also, the 5G shipments added to the growth of ASP. Overall shipments of 5G devices as of Q2 are 10% of the total but it takes 20% of revenue. This is because many 5G phones in Q2 like the OnePlus 8 series, Samsung’s S & A series in the premium segment sold well. An increase in demand for education, work, gaming, entertainment is also said to be a factor for users’ liking towards premium phones.

Of all, China is the largest contributor of 5G. 72% of the shipments are from China most of which is contributed by Huawei. Consequently, it takes the top spot with about a 13% YoY increase of ASP as of Q2 2020. In spite of hurdles like the US sanctions, China showed a great potential because it recovered quickly from COVID-19 when others are still facing the heat.

However, budget devices performed sluggish due to extension of lockdown, closure of offline stores, less attraction, and caution among low-middle class people. To sum up, the demand for premium phones with contributions from 5G increased the overall ASP of the global market. That said, the report says global shipments revenue shares for Q2 2020 are split between Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Vivo, Oppo. And they captured 34%, 17%, 20%, 7% ,6% ,16% respectively.

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Smartphones continue to sell despite the pandemic in 2020. Consequently, a recent report by IDC reveals that budget and mid-range(below $400) smartphones continue to be the star of the show. And, if the predictions are right, the mid to high-end segment will also see a surge going forward.

A study by IDC (International Data Corporation) shows that smartphones in the low to mid-tier segment ($100-400) dominated worldwide shipments with a 60% market share in Q2 2020. This was evident in price-sensitive markets like Asia (excl. Japan&China), Latin America, MEA (Middle East&Africa), and CEE(Central Europe) where 85% of the market belonged to smartphones under $400. In countries like the USA, the market share of devices under $200 rose to 27% in Q2.

The dominance of Chinese companies under $400

That said, according to the report, companies like Samsung, Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo are the sole contributors. The reason for this could be the value proposition that their devices bring in every segment. Still, premium brands like Apple also seem to have grabbed a scoop of this. Apple’s iPhone SE had a great reception and as a result, the company sold nearly 10 million units in Q2 2020.

Editor’s Pick: Smartphone shipments from Chinese brands could see a double-digit decline in 2H20

Nearly 73% of smartphone shipments in 2020 is expected to be dominated by devices under $400. However, IDC says that the overall value of smartphones will decline by 7.9% which is $422.4 billion from $458.5 billion in 2019.

COVID-19 has resulted in unemployment, and add to this, supply disruption and delay in manufacturing during Q2 meant the industry had to adapt to a new normal. Hence, affordable smartphones took the center stage and if reports are true, the shipments are expected to grow further and reach 63% in 2021.

Prospects of the mid-to-high-end segment

The mid-to-high-end devices($400-600) clocked a share of 11.6% in Q2 2020. Nabila Popal, Research Director at IDC says, ” IDC expects the fastest growth will be in $400-600 as 5G sales grow and average price drops to $465 by 2024″.

Up Next: Canalys predicts global 5G smartphone shipments will reach 278 million this year

The post IDC: Affordable smartphones accounted for nearly 60% shipments in Q2 2020 appeared first on Gizmochina.

The analysts at Counterpoint Research released their global smartphone shipments report for Q1 2020. As expected the market plummeted 13% YoY due to COVIID-19 global pandemic. However, brands like Relalme and Xiaomi showed an increase of 157% and 7% YoY growth rates respectively. In fact, they are the only company to be less affected. Also, the market share of 5G phones rose to 8% compared to 1% last year at the same time.

For the first time ever since Q1 2014, the global smartphone shipments dropped below 300 million units in a quarter. China as the primary smartphone market of the world was severely affected by the pandemic, which originated from the region.

Smartphone shipments declined by 27% YoY in China making the region account for 22% overall global market share from 26% last year. This also affected the supply chain, which can lead OEMs to look for countries like India and Vietnam in the future.

Samsung led the market but its shipments dropped by 18% YoY. It is expected to further decline given all the primary markets for the OEM is still under lockdown. Whereas, Huawei, which ranked second with 17% YoY decline has the potential to grow as the Chinese market is recovering. Also, in third place, Apple only saw a 5% YoY decline but its iPhone revenues dropped by 7% YoY.

As far as recovery is concerned, analysts predict mid-range smartphones to be the biggest winner of the pandemic. Sales of entry-level handsets are expected to go down due to the current economic situation, especially in developing nations. But high-end devices will start selling once again after certain normalcy.

However, mid-range devices will continue to thrive. On top of it, OEMs are expected to launch 5G-enabled sub $300 smartphones, which will further increase the market share of 5G as well as mid-range handsets.

Further, the most affected are the OEMs whose primary channel of business is offline. Also, the market share of the top 10 brands has increased from 80% in Q1 2019 to 83%. This suggests the brands that rank 11 and above like HMD Global are yet to see worst quarters.

UP NEXT: Smartphone sales in China fall by 22% in Q1 2020; only Huawei registers growth

(Source)

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According to a new forecast from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows signs of market recovery in the second half of 2019 and into 2020, hinting at the smartphone shipment growth.

As per the report, IDC expects shipment volumes to be nearly flat (-0.4%) in the second half of 2019 while the market declines 2.2% year over year for the full year, making 2019 the third straight year of global contraction. But, in the year 2020, IDC expects shipment growth to reach 1.6 percent.

It says that a ray of hope has arrived for the smartphone world in the form of 5G. Since the commercial deployments have begun in many regions, 2020 looks to be the year where 5G begins to ramp up. IDC expects 5G shipments to reach 8.9 percent of smartphones shipped in 2020, accounting for 123.5 million devices shipped. This is expected to grow to 28.1 percent by 2023.

The report says that Android‘s smartphone share will increase to 87.0 percent in 2019 from 85.1 percent in 2018 mostly due to 5G launches and expedited inventory cleanup of older devices. Volumes are expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.7 percent with shipments of 1.3 billion in 2023.

If further adds that this year will remain a challenging one for Apple’s iPhone shipments with volumes expected to drop to 177.9 million, down 14.8 percent year over year. This is mostly being attributed to market maturity as well as a lack of 5G devices. Apple is expected to launch 5G smartphones next year.

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The post Global Shipments to decline this year, but 5G will revive the market in 2020: IDC appeared first on Gizmochina.