Samsung Electronics is back in the top spot as the world’s biggest smartphone producer accounting for one fifth of all sales.
According to market research firm Canalys the top three brands are Samsung, Apple and Chinese brand Xiaomi who clocked its best quarterly performance ever, with shipments surging 62% to 49 million phones and market share to 14%.
Brands that are struggling outside of China where they are growing share are Oppo, Realme and Vivo, as consumers in markets such as Australia, the USA, UK, and India dump Chinese brands because of the outbreak of COVID-19 and regional tensions with China.
Overall, global sales surged 27% to 347 million units in the first quarter as the Chinese economy opened up and Chinese national boosted sales of Samsung and Apple devices.
Samsung shipped 76.5 million smartphones in the quarter to grab a 22% share of the market, Canalys said. The company on Thursday reported a 66% surge in quarterly profit in its mobile business, due to robust sales of its flagship Galaxy S21 smartphone series.
The research group reported that Apple shipped 52.4 million iPhones in the January-March period, falling to the second spot with a 15% marketshare, after it wowed Chinese shoppers in the December quarter with its new 5G-enabled iPhone 12.
People upgrading to the new iPhone still drove sales, though, and the company said on Wednesday that overall sales to China nearly doubled.
Last year, people shopped for smartphones and gadgets as they stayed indoors because of the coronavirus pandemic, fuelling a global shortage in semiconductor chips that has roiled industries including autos and white goods.
“Supply of critical components, such as chipsets, has quickly become a major concern, and will hinder smartphone shipments in the coming quarters,” Stanton said.
Apple said on Wednesday that the chip shortage could cost the company $3 billion to $4 billion in revenue in the April-June quarter, affecting primarily iPads and MacBooks.
China’s Huawei, the former No. 1 that remains shackled by U.S. sanctions, took the seventh place with 18.6 million units after selling its Honor brand last year.
