Samsung has regained pole position in terms of smartphone market share globally in the first quarter of 2018, after losing it to Apple in Q4 2017. The latest market report by International Data Corporation (IDC) says that Samsung now has a market share of 23.4 percent, while brands like Huawei and Xiaomi has registered strong growth.
The report adds that the smartphone industry has seen a decline of 2.8 percent as the vendors shipped a total of 334.3 million units during the first quarter of 2018, which is quite low as compared to the 344.4 million units shipped in the Q1 2017. The major reason attributed forthe declineas per the report was slugging Chineses market which shipped just 100 million in the quarter, which hasn’t happened since the third quarter of 2013.
Though, Samsung grabbed 23.4 percent market share it experienced a decline of 2.4 percent. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ helped the company to revive its market share in the global smartphone market, while the A series and J series continued to drive most of the key volume in both developed and emerging markets as per the report.
Coming to Apple, the Cupertino-based company now stands in the second position with modest 2.8 percent year-over-year growth from 50.8 million units shipped last year to 52.2 million shipped during Q1 2018. Further, the success of the iPhone X along with healthy sales of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, helped the company to grab the second position.
Huawei climbed to a new height as the company has registered a growth of 13.8 percent year-over-year. The brand is in the third position and holds a market share of 11.8 percent. IDC highlights that the company has a strong presence in Western Europe and it is particularly strong in Spain, Germany and Italy. In these markets, the Lite versions are one of the best selling smartphones.
For Xiaomi, the Q1 2018 brings some good news as the brand due to its strong growth of 87.8 percent year-over-year. The company stands at the fourth position, with a market share of 8.4 percent, which is almost double as compared to 4.3 percent in Q1 2017. Oppo, on the other hand, has seen a decline of 7.5 percent year-over-year and it now has a market share of 7.1 percent.