Global smartphone shipments experienced the highest growth since 2015 during Q1, Strategy Analytics figures showed, with replacement of older devices and an ongoing push of 5G models by Chinese vendors credited.
Strategy Analytics placed shipments at 340 million units, a 24 per cent year-on-year increase, with the Chinese smartphone market highlighted as particularly buoyant, up 34 per cent to 94 million units.
The top five vendors, Samsung; Apple; Xiaomi; Oppo; and Vivo, accounted for 76 per cent of global shipments, compared with 71 per cent in Q1 2020, as the companies shrugged off chip shortages and supply constraints.
Samsung maintained its leading position, with shipments of 77 million smartphones up 32 per cent driven by the A-series and its 5G portfolio.
Apple’s growth was supported by the iPhone 12, with total shipments of 57 million units, while Xiaomi held on to number three in the rankings for the second quarter in a row, shipping 49 million.
Oppo shipped 38 million, up from 23 million in Q1 2020, and Vivo 37 million versus 20 million.
Huawei found itself in the “others” segment, which overall accounted for 82 million units in the recent quarter, down from 107 million.
