IDC said Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies, uptil now the third biggest maker of smartphones globally, had grabbed the second spot, shopping 54.2 million units for the second quarter of 2018, and registering a record high market share of 15.8%.
Samsung was first again, despite its shipments slipping 10.4% compared to the corresponding quarter in 2017. The company shipped 71.5 million units, compared to the 79.8 million units it shipped in the second quarter of 2017.
The South Korean conglomerate is shipping its new Galaxy Note 9 on 9 August; the device is expected to have a bigger battery, S-Pen capabilities and better performance overall.
IDC said that Huawei continued to lead the Chinese smartphone market with a record high market share of 27% in the second quarter of 2018. "In the first half of this quarter, Huawei's P20/P20 Pro series found strong demand in the US$600-US$800 price segment, helping Huawei build a high profile in the market. In the second half, with the release of its 'GPU Turbo' technology, Huawei continued to earn a good reputation."
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Apple's 41.3 million units shipped marked modest growth of 0.7% over the 41 million shipped in 2Q 2017. "The iPhone continued to perform well at the high end as the iPhone X remains a top seller in many markets," IDC said.
"Apple will look to regain control of the market this fall with the expected launch of three next generations of iPhone models. The new models are rumoured to bring different screens sizes, price points, increased performance, and new features to the table when they arrive next quarter."
Two other Chinese brands were also mentioned by IDC: Xiaomi and OPPO.
Xiaomi has taken the top position for market share in India over the past few quarters and had now closed the gap with Samsung in Indonesia as it ramped up its local production to address the increased demand during the Ramadan period. The company was also expanding its online channel presence and opening up more Mi home stores in the country, IDC said.
But OPPO faced a slowdown in India and most of Southeast Asia as it eased back on aggressive marketing and sales activities. "Despite this, the company still managed to grow 5.1% over last year as it continued its expansion into other markets such as the Middle East and Africa," IDC said.
"The recent launch of the Find X has also garnered OPPO some praise as the innovative, bezel-less and notch-less design has grabbed the attention of many."
"The continued growth of Huawei is impressive, to say the least, as is its ability to move into markets where, until recently, the brand was largely unknown," said Ryan Reith, program vice-president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.
"It is worth noting that Apple moved into the top position each of the last two holiday quarters following its product refresh, so it's likely we'll see continued movement among the top ranked companies in 2018 and beyond. For most markets, the ultra-high end ($700+) competition is largely some combination of Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, depending on the geography, and this is unlikely to change much in the short term.
"At the same time, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo are all slowly pushing their customer base upstream at a price tier slightly lower than the top three. This is an area they should all watch closely as the builds in this segment are getting increasingly more advanced."
Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said: "The combination of market saturation, increased smartphone penetration rates, and climbing average selling prices continue to dampen the growth of the overall market.
"Consumers remain willing to pay more for premium offerings in numerous markets and they now expect their device to outlast and outperform previous generations of that device which cost considerably less a few years ago. To contest this slowdown, vendors will need to focus on new innovative features and form factors combined with incentives and promotions to drive growth in many of these highly competitive markets moving forward."