The COVID-19 pandemic caused global smartphone shipments to fall 2020% in the first quarter of 11,7 compared to the same period last year. During this time, manufacturers were able to supply 275,8 million devices to the market. This is the largest rate of decline in history, according to a preliminary report from research firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
βWhile the first quarter typically sees sequential (quarterly) declines in shipments, this is the largest year-over-year decline on record,β IDC said.
At the same time, it is not at all surprising why this happened - the first quarter marked the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the suspension of factories in China.
According to IDC, the strongest decline in supplies was observed in the Middle Kingdom - by 20,3% compared to the same period last year. Since China accounts for almost a quarter of global smartphone shipments, this has had a huge impact on the overall market, experts say.
In the USA and Western Europe during the reporting period, supplies decreased by 16,1 and 18,3%, respectively.
The leader in global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 was the South Korean company Samsung. It supplied 58,3 million devices to the market, which is 21,1% of the total volume. At the same time, this is 18,9% less than a year earlier. By the end of the first quarter of last year, Samsung accounted for 23% of global shipments.
The second place is occupied by the Chinese Huawei. During the three months of the reporting period, the company shipped 49 million smartphones (a decrease of 17,1% year on year). Its share decreased to 17,8% from 18,9% a year earlier.
The third largest supplier was Apple. During the first quarter, the Cupertino company shipped 36,7 million smartphones to the global market (a decrease of 0,4% year on year). At the same time, its market share increased to 13,3% from 11,8% in the first quarter of 2019.
βShipments fell just 0,4% year on year, the slowest rate of decline among the top three suppliers. This is primarily due to the ongoing success of the iPhone 11 series,β experts suggest.
The top five largest smartphone manufacturers are rounded out by Chinese companies Xiaomi and Vivo. The first was able to increase its annual supply volume by 6,1%, to 29,5 million smartphones, thereby increasing its market share to 10,7% versus 8,9% a year earlier.
Compared to the same period last year, Vivo was able to increase shipments by 7% to 24,8 million smartphones. Its market share reached 9% versus 7,4% a year earlier.
Source: 3dnews.ru