Global sales of smartphones to end users returned to growth in the first quarter of 2018 with a 1.3 percent increase over the same period in 2017, according to Gartner. Compared to the first quarter of 2017 sales of total mobile phones stalled and reached 455 million units in the first quarter of 2018. Nearly 384 million smartphones were sold in the first quarter of 2018, representing 84 percent of total mobile phones sold.
"Demand for premium and high-end smartphones continued to suffer due to marginal incremental benefits during upgrade," said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner. "Demand for entry-level smartphones (sub-$100) and low midtier smartphones (sub-$150) improved due to better-quality models.
Continued weakness in Greater China's mobile phone market also limited growth potential for the top global brands, including Chinese brands such as OPPO and Vivo, with over 70 percent of their sales coming from Greater China.
Worldwide Smartphone Sales in 1Q18 (Thousands of Units)
Vendor | 1Q18 Units | 1Q18 Market Share (%) | 1Q17 Units | 1Q17 Market Share (%) |
Samsung | 78,564.8 | 20.5 | 78,776.2 | 20.8 |
Apple | 54,058.9 | 14.1 | 51,992.5 | 13.7 |
Huawei | 40,426.7 | 10.5 | 34,181.2 | 9.0 |
Xiaomi | 28,498.2 | 7.4 | 12,707.3 | 3.4 |
OPPO | 28,173.1 | 7.3 | 30,922.3 | 8.2 |
Others | 153,782.1 | 40.1 | 169,921.1 | 44.9 |
Total | 383,503.9 | 100.0 | 378,500.6 | 100.0 |
Samsung's midtier smartphones faced continued competition from Chinese brands, which led to unit sales contraction year on year. This is despite the earlier launch of its flagship Galaxy S9/S9+ compared to the S8/S8+ in 2017, and despite the Note 8 having a positive impact on Samsung sales in the first quarter of 2018.
The delayed sales boost for Apple from last quarter materialized. Apple's smartphone unit sales returned to growth in the first quarter of 2018, with an increase of 4 percent year on year. Huawei's refreshed smartphone portfolio helped strengthen its No. 3 global smartphone vendor position.
Xiaomi was the clear winner of the first quarter, achieving a growth of 124 percent year on year. Their refreshed portfolio of smartphones and aggressive pricing strategy helped it hold the No. 4 spot in the first quarter of 2018.
In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Google's Android and Apple's iOS achieved growth in units in the first quarter of 2018, but Android saw its share slightly contract.
Worldwide Smartphone Sales by OS in 1Q18 (Thousands of Units)
Operating System | 1Q18 Units | 1Q18 Market Share (%) | 1Q17 Units | 1Q17 Market Share (%) |
Android | 329,313.9 | 85.9 | 325,900.9 | 86.1 |
iOS | 54,058.9 | 14.1 | 51,992.5 | 13.7 |
Other OS | 131.1 | 0.0 | 607.3 | 0.2 |
Total | 383,503.9 | 100.0 | 378,500.6 | 100.0 |
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