Strategy Analytics: Global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 were 275 million units, down 17% year-on-year

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics , global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 were 275 million units, down 17% year-on-year . This is the worst quarterly performance in the history of the smartphone industry. In terms of global smartphone market share, Samsung maintained its first place with 21 %, Huawei ranked second and remained stable at 18 %, while Apple ranked third rose slightly to 14 %.

Qian Sui, Director of Smartphone Research at Strategy Analytics, said: “Global smartphone shipments fell 17% year-on-year, from 330.4 million units in the first quarter of 2019 to 274.8 million units in the first quarter of 2020. As expected, the global smartphone market showed its worst performance ever. Demand for smartphones plummeted during the quarter as the Covid-19 virus shut down major economies such as China and shoppers put their spending plans on hold.”

Neil Mawston, Executive Research Director at Strategy Analytics, added: “Samsung shipped 58.3 million smartphones globally in Q1 2020, down 19% from 71.8 million in Q1 2019. This was Samsung’s lowest quarterly smartphone shipment in eight years. Despite a strong lineup of A, S and Note series models, Samsung could not escape the virus-induced collapse in smartphone demand. Samsung’s global market share remained stable at over 21%, and it remains the world’s top smartphone brand. Huawei came in second, shipping 48.5 million smartphones globally in Q1 2020, down 18% from 59.1 million in the same period last year. Despite the US-China trade war and the Covid-19 virus scare, Huawei was able to maintain its global smartphone share at a respectable 18% during the quarter. China remains a core region for Huawei, with the majority of its sales occurring in the region.”

Woody Oh, Research Director at Strategy Analytics, added: “Apple’s iPhone shipments fell 9% year-over-year, a better-than-expected decline, from 43.1 million units worldwide in Q1 2019 to 39.2 million units in Q1 2020. Apple’s share of the global smartphone market rose to 14% from 13% last year. Apple’s new iPhone SE model, with a lower price point, has a greater presence in emerging markets such as India, which should help Apple further increase sales in the coming months.”

Qian Sui, Research Director at Strategy Analytics, added: “Xiaomi remained in fourth place, capturing a record 10% of the global smartphone market in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 8% in the same period last year. Xiaomi is currently capturing the huge Indian market, which has given the company a huge boost in smartphone shipments. OPPO maintained its fifth position with 8% global smartphone market share during the quarter, which is the same as 8% in the same period last year. OPPO continues to expand into Western Europe and other regions with high-profile models such as the Reno 3 5G. However, OPPO has been contracting in the US smartphone market in recent months, and the region remains a major gap in its product portfolio strategy.”