Global smartphone sales to end-users hit 344 million units in the second quarter of 2016, a year-on-year increase of 4.3 per cent, according to analyst firm Gartner. While five of the top 10 mobile phone vendors saw growth, overall unit sales contracted by 0.5 per cent. This could be attributed to consumers holding off on buying premium smartphones until the later half of the year when new devices come out. Here’s a rundown of how the big phone vendors performed.
According to Gartner’s figures, Samsung maintained top position, gaining a little bit more market share compared to the same period last year. Apple’s market share dropped by 7.7 per cent compared to the previous quarter. According to Gartner, the decline was the worst in Greater China and mature Asia-Pacific regions, where sales dropped by 26 per cent. Having said that, iPhone sales grew more than 95 per cent year-on-year in Eurasia, Sub-Sahara Africa and Eastern Europe regions.
Among the top five smartphone vendors, Oppo showed the highest growth in the second quarter of 2016 at 129 per cent. This is due to strong sales of its R9 handset in China and overseas. According to Gartner research director Anshul Gupta: “Features such as an anti-shake camera optimised for selfies, and rapid charge technology, helped Oppo carve a niche market for itself and boost sales in a highly competitive and commoditized smartphone market.”
Here’s the full breakdown of smartphone sales:
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2Q16 (Thousands of Units)
| Company | 2016 Q2 units | 2016 Q2 share (%) | 2015 Q2 units | 2015 Q2 share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung | 79,743.5 | 22.3 | 72,072.5 | 21.8 |
| Apple | 44,395 | 12.9 | 48,085.5 | 14.6 |
| Huawei | 30,670.7 | 8.9 | 26,454.4 | 8 |
| Oppo | 18,489.6 | 5.4 | 8073.8 | 2.4 |
| Xiaomi (not sold in Australia) | 15,530.7 | 4.5 | 15,464.5 | 4.7 |
| Others | 159,530.3 | 46/td> | 160,162.1 | 48.5 |
Moving onto mobile operating systems, Gartner’s numbers showed that Android is still dominating the scene while iOS came in second. Windows mobile is holding on in third place but things are looking grim. Take a look at the numbers yourself:
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2Q16 (Thousands of Units)
| Operating System | 2016 Q2 units | 2016 Q2 share (%) | 2015 Q2 units | 2015 Q2 share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 296,912.8 | 86.2 | 271,647 | 82.2 |
| iOS | 44,395 | 12.9 | 48,085.5 | 14.6 |
| Windows | 1971 | 0.6 | 8198.2 | 2.5 |
| BlackBerry | 400.4 | 0.1 | 1153.2 | 0.3 |
| Others | 680.6 | 0.2 | 1229 | 0.4 |
Windows mobile showed so much promise with the Windows 10 Mobile operating system, but earlier this year the Microsoft all but gave up on supporting that side of the business. In late May, the company announced plans to effectively canning its Nokia handset division, a business it bought for US$7.1 billion three years ago. Microsoft chose to redirect efforts to its enterprise mobile play instead.
AT the time, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had this to say about the decision:
“We are focusing our phone efforts where we have differentiation — with enterprises that value security, manageability and our Continuum capability, and consumers who value the same,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “We will continue to innovate across devices and on our cloud services across all mobile platforms.”
[Via Gartner]
Comments