FRAMINGHAM, MA – Worldwide smartphone shipments decreased 16% year-over-year in the second quarter, according to International Data Corp. In total, companies shipped 278.4 million units.

"Smartphone shipments suffered a huge decline in the second quarter, as they directly correlate to consumer spending, which had a massive reduction due to the global economic crisis and rising unemployment brought on by the widespread lockdowns," said Nabila Popal, research director with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "This combined with the closure of retail stores, especially in regions where online shopping is less common, compounded the negative effect on smartphone sales."

From a regional perspective, Asia/Pacific (excluding China and Japan), Western Europe, and the US declined 31.9%, 14.8%, and 12.6%, respectively. China fared slightly better, with a decline of 10.3%, and arguably shows some early signs of market recovery, says IDC.

"The smartphone supply chain ground to a halt when the pandemic hit. However, recovery, specifically in China, has been strong," said VP Ryan Reith, Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "The question now becomes what does demand look like with so much uncertainty around the world? We have already seen OEMs moving more aggressively with their 5G portfolios both in terms of production and price points. However, we still see consumer demand for 5G being low, so the supply-side push is likely to produce very high-priced competition."

Huawei for the first time reached the number one position, with 55.8 million smartphones shipped in the second quarter, despite a decline of 5.1% year-over-year. With the overall market declining even faster, Huawei also achieved its highest-ever share (20%) of the global market. This was driven by Huawei's tremendous growth in China – almost 10% – which offset the large declines the company faced in every other region. Looking forward, the impact of the US technology ban will continue to create uncertainty for Huawei in foreign markets.

Samsung shipped 54.2 million smartphones in the second quarter, finishing a close second with 19.5% share. However, the Korean giant suffered a 28.9% year-over-year decline, the most significant among the top five vendors. While the A series continues to perform well, contributing to the majority of its volume, premium devices such the Galaxy S20 and the Galaxy Z Flip, launched in the peak of the pandemic, are facing sales challenges despite price reductions.

Apple shipped 37.6 million iPhones during the period, placing third with a 13.5% market share. iPhone shipments climbed 11.2% year-over-year thanks to the continued success of its iPhone 11 series and the timely launch of the new SE. The new SE found success as it managed to effectively target the lower-priced segment, which bodes well for the vendor in this time of crisis, where consumers are shifting toward more budget-friendly devices. Looking ahead, the launch of four new potential models will signal Apple's entry in the world of 5G and challenge Android 5G devices that have been out for more than a year.

Xiaomi shipped 28.5 million devices, maintaining its number four position, achieving a 10.2% share despite a decline of 11.8%. Although Xiaomi faced a large year-over-year drop in both China and India, the lockdown and anti-China sentiment in India had a larger impact on the vendor, with a 50% year-over-year decline, despite maintaining its number one position.

Oppo returned to the top five this quarter with 24 million units and 8.6% market share, despite a 18.8% year-over-year decline. Roughly 60% of OPPO's shipments were to its domestic market of China, which was a key factor in getting the vendor back into the top five globally. In China, the A series was again the volume driver, while the new Reno 4 series performed much better than expected due to competitive pricing. Meanwhile in India, Oppo’s second-largest market, the vendor faced challenges in both supply and demand with factory shutdowns and consumers facing the anti-China sentiment.

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