IDC quarterly figures show 334.9 million smartphones were shipped in Q1 2016, with Samsung, Apple and Huawei also in top five
The number of smartphones shipped in the first quarter grew slightly this year to 334.9 million, as Chinese manufacturers OPPO and Vivo joined the top five vendors in terms of sales.
Figures from IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker showed a 0.2 per cent growth in smartphone sales, the smallest year-on-year growth on record.
Samsung continued to top the list, shipping 81.9 million devices in the three months to March 30, a 0.6 per cent decline on Q1 2015. The Korean manufacturer yesterday (April 28) credited a 5.7 per cent increase in revenue to successful early sales of its new S7 flagship range.
Apple, which came second, also saw shipment of iPhon
es fall, by 16.3 per cent to 51.2 million. This was the first ever year-on-year decline recorded by the US manufacturer in the first quarter.
Huawei’s continued “domestic dominance” and growing sales outside of China saw it increase shipments by 58.4 per cent to 27.5 million, with its market share up from 5.2 per cent in Q1 last year to 8.2 per cent.
It was joined in the top five by two rival Chinese manufacturers, OPPO and Vivo, who replaced Lenovo and Xiaomi respectively.
OPPO, which began shipping devices in 2011, has focused primarily on the South-East Asia market. It shipped 18.5 million devices in Q1, up 153 per cent from 7.3 million the previous year, the strongest growth among the top five.
Vivo also began selling devices in 2011, but a 123 per cent increase in sales to 14.3 million saw it take the final top five spot from rival Xiaomi.
IDC senior research manager Melissa Chau said: “Along China’s maturing smartphone adoption curve, the companies most aligned with growth are those with products serving increasingly sophisticated consumers. Lenovo benefited with ASPs below US$150 in 2013, and Xiaomi picked up the mantle with ASPs below US$200 in 2014 and 2015.
“Now Huawei, OPPO, and vivo, which play mainly in the sub-US$250 range, are positioned for a strong 2016. These new vendors would be well-advised not to rest on their laurels though, as this dynamic smartphone landscape has shown to even cult brands like Xiaomi that customer loyalty is difficult to consistently maintain.”
