Global smartphone shipments declined by 3% in first quarter of 2018: Counterpoint

Smartphone sales across the world declined by 3 per cent during the first quarter of 2018, shows data from Counterpoint Research,

Smartphone, Smartphone shipments, Smartphone numbers, Counterpoint, Counterpoint data, Counterpoint research, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, vivo

Smartphone sales across the world declined by 3 per cent during the first quarter of 2018. (Image Source: Bloomberg)

Smartphone shipments around the world declined by 3 per cent annually in the first quarter of 2018, according to data shared by research firm Counterpoint. The survey showed that around 360 million smartphones were shipped globally during the quarter. Crucially, the decline of the China smartphone market affected many Chinese brands especially Oppo and vivo, who are focusing on other markets like India to make up for slowing domestic demand.

Counterpoint’s numbers for the first quarter showed that the world’s top 10 smartphone brands account for 76 per cent of all shipments, which shows the dominance of these players in the segment. Samsung, which is still the number one smartphone player, saw a 3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline, but maintained the highest market share of 21.7 per cent. This can be attributed to the launch of the company’s Galaxy S9 and S9+, which debuted late in February, according to the research firm.

Samsung was followed by Apple, that recorded sales of 52 million iPhones during Q1 2018, and grew by 3 per cent yearly. Apple’s position can be attributed to the popularity of the iPhone X, as confirmed by Counterpoint. The flagship iPhone also helped Apple register a 32 per cent yearly growth in China.

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Huawei capped off the world’s top 3 smartphone brands for Q1 2018. Huawei’s growth was attributed to an increased presence in India, Europe and the Middle East. Huawei also emerged as one of India’s top 5 smartphone brands during Q1 2018. The biggest growth seen among Chinese phone makers came from Xiaomi. It now occupies a 7.9 per cent share of the global market and shipped 27 million smartphones, and registered an yearly jump of 101 per cent, according to Counterpoint data.

The Chinese brands that suffered during the quarter included Oppo and vivo, shows data from the research firm. Meanwhile, iTel was the newest entrant in the global top 10 list. The Transsion sub-brand, along with its sister companies, Infinix and Tecno, shipped close to 10 million smartphones in Q1 2018. The brand captured 1.3 per cent market share. When it came to feature phones, HMD Global’s Nokia phones and Reliance Jio were key contributors to the growth of the segment.

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