The global smartphone market performed better than expected in the third quarter of 2020, with shipments declining by just 1.3% compared to the same time last year.

According to the IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, 353.6 million smartphones were shipped during the quarter and while it was a dip in shipments, it was a stronger result than the IDC’s forecast of a 9% YoY decline.

This is largely due to the reopening of the global economy after COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed.

The IDC also says the month-delay of the iPhone 12 contributed to the decline, while the new demand for 5G phones gave the market a boost.

South Korean-based Samsung reclaimed the top position in Q3 2020 with a huge market share of 22.7% after shipping 80.4 million smartphones, up 2.9% YoY.

India was the largest market for Samsung, accounting for 15% of total volume. The US was Samsung’s second largest market, with good performances from the Note 20, Note 20 Ultra and the A series.

Huawei lost its top spot from Q2 with 51.9 million smartphones shipped and a 14.7% share, while Xiaomi shipped 46.5 million devices – beating Apple for the first time – with 13.1% share.

Apple dropped to fourth position with 41.6 million phones, down 10.6 YoY, while Chinese-owned vivo was number five with 31.5 million units and 4.2% growth.

“While some of the topline numbers may not seem pretty, we are seeing a lot of improvement in the smartphone market both in terms of supply chains and consumer demand,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers.

“In the large developed markets, it is very clear that 5G will be positioned to most consumers as their next phone regardless of which brand or price point they are focused on.

Marketing has ramped up significantly. Products are widely available. Promotions are happening. And it’s clear that the top sales initiative in these markets is to push 5G.”