Global Smartphone Sales Up By 9.1 Per Cent, With Maximum Impact From Chinese Firms

According to a report published by Gartner Inc., worldwide smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2017 amounted to 380 million units, which is a healthy rise of 9.1 per cent compared to the sales in the first quarter of the previous year.

- Paromik Chakraborty

The quarter saw the rise of Chinese smartphone vendors like Oppo, Vivo and Huawei gaining substantial market share at the expense of giants like Samsung and Apple.

The winds of change

While Samsung remains on top with over 20 per cent market share, followed by Apple with nearly 14 per cent, both saw a dip in their market performance when compared to the first quarter of 2016. On the other hand, Huwaei saw a considerable improvement in market share while Oppo and Vivo nearly doubled their share, when compared with their 2016 performance.

Anshul Gupta, research director, Gartner Inc., shares his opinion on the recent market developments, saying, “Apple’s sales are affected majorly due to the upcoming iPhone that is scheduled to release later this year. They had a good run in the last quarter of 2016 but the sales are now dipping, because there is going to be a pent up demand for the new iPhone that I mentioned. Buyers globally are holding back their purchases or replacements in order to get the new iPhone later. This is majorly affecting the iPhone’s sales this quarter.”