Global Smartphone Shipments Fall 2.3% Year-Over-Year, IDC Says

Global smartphone shipments fell 2.3% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the International Data Corporation said Wednesday.

Smartphone vendors shipped 333.2 million phones in the second quarter, a 6.5% increase compared with the first quarter of this year. South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. had the most shipments, followed by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Apple Inc.

Despite the year-over-year decline, the report said that global smartphone shipments had their strongest quarterly performance since the second quarter of 2018.

"Although the overall market remains in decline, the performance in the second quarter indicates that demand is starting to pick up as the market begins to stabilize again," said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, in prepared remarks.

Mr. Scarsella attributed the improved performance to availability of improved "mid-tier devices" that offer premium features but are more affordable than high-end models. He also cited the improvement to more trade-in smartphone programs in important markets.

The report said China and the U.S. saw the sharpest quarterly declines. However, the Chinese decline during the first half of the year wasn't as severe as the second half of 2018, suggesting that the world's largest smartphone market is recovering.

The IDC said that excluding Japan and China, the Asia/Pacific market saw a 3% increase in shipments during the second quarter.

Samsung had the most global shipments during the second quarter as the South Korean electronics manufacturer shipped 75.5 million smartphones.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei reached an all-time high of shipments in China.

"The China success during the quarter was in part due to actions taken following the U.S. trade ban as Huawei relocated significant human resources back to China with a focus on distribution channel management in the Chinese lower-tier cities," the IDC said.

Apple had 33.8 million smartphone shipments during the second quarter, an 18.2% decrease from a year earlier.

The IDC said that even if Apple's market share falls, the base of consumers who have iPhones is growing.

"So irrespective of the hardware -- as a new iPhone, an older model, or a refurbished product -- the expansion of iOS users is what appears to matter most going forward," the report said.