Overview

This report is one of the series of reports which tracks mobile handset: Smartphone and Feature Phone shipments every quarter for more than 140 brands covering more than 95% of the total device shipments in the industry.

Global mobile phone shipments reached 474 million units globally in Q2 2018 with a YoY growth of 1%.
Global smartphone shipments reached 363 million units in Q2 2018 with 1% annual decline due to a slow-down due to a slow-down in developed markets like China, US and Western Europe, where replacement cycles are lengthening.
Featurephone shipments increased annually and sequentially due to increase in shipments in India and MEA.
Top 10 OEMs almost contribute to 79% of the global smartphone market, thereby leaving 600+ brands competing for the remaining 21% of the market.
China’s smartphone market has declined continuously for the last four quarters, affecting the shipment growth of some Chinese brands like OPPO, vivo, Meizu and Gionee
Chinese brands have continued investing in countries and regions outside China to offset weak demand in their home market. India, South East Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa being the key markets for expansion.
Samsung led the smartphone market by volume with a market share of 20% in Q2 2018 even though it registered an annual decline of 11% due to weak sales of its flagship Galaxy S9 series smartphones
Huawei Surpassed Apple in Q2 2018 to Become the Second Largest Smartphone Brand
Huawei shipments grew 41% annually in Q2 2018. The company managed to be the fastest growing (21%) smartphone brand amid a declining China smartphone market, and grew fully 71% overseas
Apple shipped 41.3 million iPhones during Q2 2018, up 1% compared to the same quarter last year. iPhone X remains the top seller for Apple during the quarter. ASP’s fell marginally compared to the previous quarter due to the greater mix of iPhone 8, 8 Plus and older iPhone models
Xiaomi remained one of the fastest growing brands in Q2 2018, driven by record shipment in India with 112% annual growth.
OPPO and vivo were the fifth and sixth largest brands during the quarter, capturing 8% and 7% market share, respectively. OPPO recorded an annual decline of 3% while vivo registered a growth of 1%
During the quarter, OPPO and vivo also expanded their presence in the premium segment by launching devices like the Find X and Nex. The aggressive expansion of these brands in markets outside mainland China will be the key to growth as the home market reaches saturation levels in 2018
Tecno entered the global top 10 smartphone shipments ranking for the first time. Tecno, a major brand in Middle East and Africa, is positioning itself as a smartphone-only brand in some of the key countries including India
Africa is likely to be the next battleground with Transsion successfully targeting first time smartphone users. However, brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Huawei and Samsung have an opportunity to target users who are buying their second or third smartphone.

Subscription required to access this content