Monday, September 8, 2025
24.5 C
Lagos

Global Smartphone Sales Tops 344m Units in 2nd Qtr

Global sales of smartphones to end users totaled 344 million units in the second quarter of 2016, a 4.3 percent increase over the same period in 2015, according to Gartner.

Overall sales of mobile phones contracted by 0.5 percent with only five vendors from the top 10 showing growth. Among them were four Chinese manufacturers (Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi and BBK Communication Equipment) and South Korea’s Samsung.

“Demand for premium smartphones slowed in the second quarter of 2016 as consumers wait for new hardware launches in the second half of the year,” said Anshul Gupta, Research Director at Gartner. In addition, the decline in sales of “feature phones” (down 14 per cent) bolstered the decline in overall sales of mobile phones in the second quarter of 2016.

All mature markets except Japan saw slowing demand for smartphones leading to a decline in sales of 4.9 percent. In contrast, all emerging regions except Latin America saw growth, which led to smartphone sales growing by 9.9 percent.

In the second quarter of 2016, Samsung had nearly 10 percent more market share than Apple. Samsung saw sales of its Galaxy A and Galaxy J series smartphones compete strongly with Chinese manufacturers. Its new smartphone portfolio also helped Samsung win back share it recently lost in emerging markets.

Apple continued its downward trend with a decline of 7.7 percent in the second quarter of 2016. Apple sales declined in North America (its biggest market) as well as in Western Europe.

However, it witnessed its worst sales decline in Greater China and mature Asia/Pacific regions, where sales declined 26 percent. Apple had its best performance in Eurasia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe regions in the second quarter of 2016, where iPhone sales grew more than 95 percent year on year.

Among the top five smartphone vendors, Oppo exhibited the highest growth in the second quarter of 2016 at 129 percent. This is due to strong sales of its R9 handset in China and overseas.

“Features such as an anti-shake camera optimized for selfies, and rapid charge technology, helped Oppo carve a niche market for itself and boost sales in a highly competitive and commoditized smartphone market,” said Gupta.

In terms of the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Android regained share over iOSto achieve an 86 percent share in the second quarter of 2016. Android’s performance continued to come from demand for mid- to lower-end smartphones from emerging markets, but also from premium smartphones, which recorded a 6.5 percent increase in the second quarter of 2016.

A number of key Android players, such as Samsung with the Galaxy S7, introduced their new high-end devices, but Chinese brands like Huawei and Oppo are also pushing their premium smartphone ranges with more affordable devices.

“Google is evolving the Android platform fast, which allows Android players to remain at the cutting edge of smartphone technology,” said Roberta Cozza, Research Director at Gartner.

“Facing a highly commoditized smartphone market, Google’s focus is to further expand and diversify the Android platform with additional functionalities, like virtual reality, enabling more-intelligent experiences and reach into wearables, connected home devices, in-car entertainment and TV.”

spot_img
spot_img

Hot this week

Nigeria, Brazil Central Banks Deepen Economic, Financial Co-operation

Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has held talks...

Ecobank Nigeria to Host Second Edition of Design & Build, Showcasing Premier Innovators in Design, Construction

Ecobank Nigeria, a subsidiary of the leading pan-African banking...

Expert: Fintech, Financial Inclusion Critical for Sustainable Growth of Nigerian Economy

A renowned economist, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, the Chief Consultant/CEO,...

Sterling Bank Marks One Year of Africa’s Groundbreaking Core Banking System

Number one Best Workplace in Banking in Nigeria and...

Topics

Former MTN CEO, Ahmad Farroukh, in 6-Year Unrelenting Quest for Justice

Telecommunications giant, MTN is currently embroiled in a protracted...

Recession: MainOne Keeps Nigerian Businesses Profitable with Data/Cloud Solutions

For companies in Nigeria currently battling the recession, the...

MTN Nigeria to Go Public in 2016

MTN Nigeria will become a Public Liability Company (PLC) in 2016. Accordingly, MTN will list its shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by way of public offer for purchase by interested members of the investing public. A senior insider in MTN Nigeria confided in Business Journal: “Well, l can tell you that the management has concluded plans to list the shares of MTN on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2016, mainly due to intense pressure from various quarters in the past three years.

NCDMB Debunks Alleged N7.7bn Expenditure on Consultancy

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) wishes...

Qatar Airways Reports $4bn Loss in 2020 over COVID-19 Pandemic

Qatar Airways has reported a net loss of 14.9...

Nigerian Insurers to Launch Branding Campaign Oct 1

Operators in the Nigerian insurance industry will commence an...

Stanbic IBTC Bank Wins Best Foreign Exchange Provider Award

Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC...

Africa Insurance Women Association to Host International Conference for Women in Insurance

Mrs. Margaret Nkechi Moore President Africa Insurance Women Association The Africa Insurance...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img