Apple closes in on Samsung in latest smartphone charts

Market researcher IDC released a report showing that smartphone manufacturers collectively shipped 355 million smartphone units for this quarter. But, IDC said, the bulk of volume and growth in smartphones comes from low- and mid-priced devices, especially in emerging markets in Asia and elsewhere. Older iPhone 5S, 6, and 6 Plus models also sold vigorously thanks to recent price cuts across all models. The latter were starting to resonate with consumers, he added, and the alternatives now becoming available were pressuring top-end Android offerings – those costing more than $500. IHS showed Xiaomi sold 34.7 million smartphones in the first half of the year, while Huawei sold 50 million.

It said it expects stronger smartphone sales in the fourth quarter, a peak holiday season for handset vendors, although it declined to elaborate. The growth was driven by new flagship devices such as the iPhone 6s, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5. The two new iPhone models continue to capture upgraders and Android converts alike in many key markets such as China and the US, IDC said.

Huawei claimed 8.7% of the smartphone market during the second quarter, according to IDC, while Samsung had 21.4% of the market and Apple 13.9%. The figure is 6.1 percent higher than the number of phones Samsung sold in the same quarter a year ago.

Wilson says premium devices, such as the Huawei Watch, Mate S and Huawei-made Nexus 6P are all launching here this month and next. Q3 saw Lenovo and Motorola branded smartphones garner 5.3% of the market, with 18.8 million shipments, an 11.1% year on year increase.

Huawei’s smartphone shipments to Europe and the Middle-East-and-Africa regions grew by 98% and 70% respectively year-on-year.

The Tencent news portal at QQ.com said that Xiaomi will remain a trendsetter in the Chinese mobile phone industry because of influence of the company’s innovative internet-based model, which pursues a high price-performance ratio and employs hunger marketing tactics. Apple’s upgrade plan is expected to assist drive handset upgrades in developed telecom markets where smartphone saturation continues to increase. Such statistics certainly earn Xiaomi a tip of the hat for becoming such a pervasive brand in a large and wildly growing mobile market like China.