The latest research by Strategy Analytics shows that global smartphone shipments in Q1 of 2021 will be 340 million, a year-on-year increase of 24%, the highest growth since 2015. The rebound in the smartphone market has been driven by consumers'' healthy demand for older devices and Chinese manufacturers'' strong push for 5G.
Sui Qian, Senior Director of Strategy Analytics, said: "Driven by the success of 5G products in multiple price segments, Chinese smartphone manufacturers performed exceptionally well during the quarter. In Q1 of 2021, China''s smartphone shipments increased by 35% year-on-year to 94 million units. Globally, the five major manufacturers accounted for 76% of the market share in Q1 of 2021, up from 71% a year ago. Chip shortages and supply constraints did not significantly impact the five major manufacturers in the quarter."
Still, we believe that in the next few quarters, small manufacturers will be worried.
Neil Mawston, Executive Director of Strategy Analytics, added: "In Q1 of 2021, Samsung has maintained its position as the world''s largest smartphone manufacturer with 77 million shipments, an increase of 32% from the 58 million in Q1 of 2020. Samsung''s new and more affordable A-series 4G and 5G mobile phones and the earlier Galaxy S21 series made Samsung''s performance stable during the quarter. Apple''s iPhone shipped 57 million units worldwide, ranking second with a 17% market share. The strong momentum behind the 5G iPhone 12 series continues in multiple markets. "
Wu Yiwen, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, pointed out: "In terms of smartphone shipments, Xiaomi has ranked third for the second quarter in a row. In Q1 of 2021, Xiaomi''s global smartphone shipments were 49 million, with a market share of 15%, which is higher than 10% a year ago. Xiaomi has maintained strong momentum in India and China, and its expansion in Europe, Latin America, and Africa have also begun to bear fruit. OPPO (excluding Realme and OnePlus) won 11% of the market share and remained the fourth smartphone manufacturer in the quarter, followed by vivo. Vivo''s Q1 shipments in 2021 increased by 85% year-on-year. "
Chart 1: Global smartphone shipments (million units) and market share (%) are divided by the world''s five largest manufacturers.
