Samsung Remains King Of The Smartphone Market
The latest numbers were actually slightly lower than what IDC had previously forecast, mainly because of lower-than-expected iPhone shipments and Android smartphone flagship models that were priced above the consumer sweet spot, IDC said.
The 2015 third-quarter global smartphone shipments mark the second highest quarter ever.
“The vendor landscape and product offerings are really unique at the moment as many markets are seeing consumers become more aware of alternative buying options when it comes to paying for their smartphone”, says Ryan Reith, programme director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Samsung, meanwhile, continues to focus on its entry level, under-$200 devices in emerging markets with the Galaxy Core and J-Series.
“The third quarter placed a substantial emphasis on flagship devices as vendors tried to outclass each other in both features and design”, Anthony Scarsella, IDC research manager for mobile phones, said in a statement.
Apple’s third quarter reached 48 million iPhones shipped, up 22% from the prior year. In addition, the smartphone company cut prices across its older iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 models to drive more sales, as well as launch a new upgrade plan to drive growth in developed markets. The number of unlocked / off-contract offerings has also increased significantly.
The Consumer Business Group shipped 27.4 million units in the three months ending 30 September, representing a year on year increase of 63%.
The shipments are up seven-percentage-points over the previous quarter even as the firm expects more growth towards the end of the year. As the IDC notes, it will be interesting to see how Nexus 6P shipments affect Huawei’s Q4 performance.
Lenovo continued to fight its way up the vendor ranking with help from its acquired assets in Motorola, breaking into the top four with sales up 11.1 percent year on year to 18.8 million and a market share of 5.7 percent, marginally ahead of another Chinese vendor, Xiaomi, which shipped 18.3 million smartphones in the third quarter for a 5.2 percent global share.
The results put New Zealand among the top performing markets for Huawei, which says it is among the top three smartphone makers here. Lenovo-branded smartphones have predominantly been a China play, although recently growth has taken off in Middle East & Africa, as well as Central & Eastern Europe.
Xiaomi shipped 18,3-million smartphones in 3Q15, bringing its 2015 total to 52,1-million.