Strategy Analytics: Samsung recaptures top smartphone spot from Apple

Global smartphone shipments grew 6 percent in 2017 : Apple's iPhone losing market share, Samsung takes lead global smartphone sales. According to the latest research report from Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew 6 percent annually to reach 353 million units in Q1 2017. Samsung Electronics recaptured first position with 23 percent global smartphone market share, while Apple dipped to 14 percent share.

Global smartphone shipments grew a steady 6 percent annually from 333.1 million smartphones in Q1 2016 to 353.3 million in Q1 2017. The global smartphone market reached a bottom in the first quarter of 2016, when it fell 3 percent, but demand has picked back up and the growth outlook for this year is improving due to economic recovery and stronger consumer sentiment in major regions like China and Brazil.

Samsung Electronics shipped 80.2 million Galaxy smartphones worldwide in Q1 2017, rising 2 percent annually from 79.0 million smartphones in Q1 2016. Samsung recaptured first place this quarter, after losing top spot to Apple in the previous Q4 2016 holiday season.

Samsung has done well to recover quickly from its recent Galaxy Note 7 battery fiasco, and we expect the new Galaxy S8 series will help to maintain Samsung’s upward momentum through the middle of 2017.

Apple fell 1 percent annually and shipped a lackluster 50.8 million smartphones for 14 percent marketshare worldwide in Q1 2017. Apple iPhone shipments have declined year-on-year in four of the past 5 quarters.

Apple has been unable to capitalize on Samsung’s Note 7 missteps, and it is clear that Apple has to do something radical with its rumored upcoming iPhone 8 series in the second half of this year to arrest the ongoing slowdown.

Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Huawei maintained third position with 10 percent global smartphone market share in Q1 2017, up from 8 percent a year ago. Huawei’s smartphone growth rate has more than halved, to 22 percent annually in Q1 2017, compared with 64 percent annual growth in Q1 2016. Huawei is facing intense competition from OPPO, Vivo and other emerging Chinese rivals such as Gionee.”

OPPO shipped a healthy 27.6 million smartphones and maintained fourth position with a record 8 percent global marketshare in Q1 2017. OPPO grew 78 percent annually in the quarter, outperforming all its major rivals. OPPO is now just two percentage points of market share behind Huawei and closing in fast.

If current trends continue, OPPO could soon be battling Huawei for third position in the global smartphone market. Vivo held fifth place, capturing a record 6 percent global smartphone market share in Q1 2017, leaping from 4 percent a year ago.

Vivo’s range of Android phones, such as the Vivo V3 and X7, are proving wildly popular in China, taking share from rivals such as Xiaomi, Samsung and Apple. Meanwhile, LG returned to 6th place with 4 percent global smartphone share, as it performed well in North America and leapt ahead of ZTE, Xiaomi and others.