Yet Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi each gained marketshare and shipments in the second quarter 2015
The smartphone industry has hit its slowest growth rate for six years, according to a new study. Global smartphone shipments grew just 15% annually to reach 340 million units in the second quarter of 2015 the latest research from Strategy Analytics shows.
However, Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi bucked the trend and grew rapidly to gain several points of marketshare in the quarter.
Linda Sui, director at Strategy Analytics, said: “Global smartphone shipments grew just 15% annually from 295 million units in the second quarter 2014 to 339.5 million in the second quarter 2015. This quarter was the smartphone industry’s slowest growth rate for six years, since the depths of the global economic recession back in the third quarter 2009.”
Despite a dip in sales, Samsung still led the pack in the second quarter; it shipped 71.9 million smartphones worldwide and captured 21% marketshare in the second quarter 2015, dipping from 25% a year earlier. Samsung faced intense competition from Chinese brands in the low end smartphone market, while the company underestimated demand for its popular S6 edge flagship model in the high end, the research stated.
In second place, Apple shipped 47.5 million smartphones worldwide and captured 14% marketshare in the second quarter 2015, rising from 12% in the same quarter 2014. Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models remained wildly popular in China and worldwide, as consumers upgraded to larger screen phablets for enhanced usability.
However, Sui warned: “Smartphone growth is slowing due to increasing penetration maturity in major markets of the US, Europe and China,” and warned that: “Smartphones will need a design transformation to revitalise growth in the future, such as foldable or rollable displays.”
In third place, Huawei’s smartphone shipments hit 30.5 million in the second quarter, up from 20.1 million in the same period 2014. Its marketshare rose from6.8% in the second quarter 2014 to 9% in 2015.
Xiaomi also gained in both shipments and marketshare, going from 5.1% marketshare and 15.1 million shipments in the second quarter 2014, to 5.8% marketshare and 19.8 million shipments in the same period this year.
Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics, noted: “Huawei moved up to third position with a record 9% global smartphone marketshare in the second quarter 2015. Huawei is expanding rapidly across Asia, Europe and North America, putting competitive pressure on key rivals such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, LG, Sony and Alcatel.
“Xiaomi recaptured fourth position with 6% global smartphone marketshare in the second quarter 2015, nudging ahead of Lenovo-Motorola in fifth place with 5% share,” added Oh. “Xiaomi has good distribution channels and competitive pricing in its large home market of China, enabling it to stay in front of Lenovo-Motorola who is struggling with the transition from 3G to 4G smartphones in China and the US.”
