Smartphone sales have slowed down a bit in the second quarter of this year, but this doesn’t mean that the business is any less important. After all, close to 3 billion people are using smartphones day after day to read the news, consume media, update their social media accounts, and most importantly play mobile online games on the go. Compared to last year’s similar period, smartphone shipments have declined by 1.3% in Q2/2017, to 341.6 million units shipped worldwide. All the biggest vendors on the market have reported the growth of their market share. Now let’s see which ones they are.
5. Xiaomi – 6.2%
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi sold 21.2 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2017, good for a place in the top 5 and a 6.2% market share. Among its notable releases this year we should Mention the Mi A1, the first smartphone running Android One, a “pure and simple” Android operating system loaded with Google’s own services but no bloatware whatsoever. The Mi A1 has a decent configuration, dual camera, a full metal unibody, and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 625 SoC.
Xiaomi has increased its market share by almost 60% compared to last year.
4. OPPO – 8.1%
With 27.8 million smartphones delivered in Q2/2017, Chinese smartphone manufacturer OPPO occupies the fourth place in the top 5 smartphone makers’ list, and an 8.1% market share. Last year, OPPO was the number one smartphone brand in China, and it has gathered quite the following in other Asian countries, too, like India, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
3. Huawei – 11.3%
Huawei briefly took over Apple at the beginning of the year, but its lead was short-lived – in the second quarter, the Shenzen-based telecommunication giant has returned to its familiar third place with 38.5 million units sold and a 11.3% market share. The manufacturer has in the past partnered with Google to build its Nexus 6 handset. This year, it has released the P10, which made waves with its Leica dual camera allowing precise 3D face recognition.
2. Apple – 12%
With 41 million units sold in the second quarter of 2017, Apple has returned to its familiar second place among the top 5 smartphone vendors in the world, months before it has presented its fresh handsets, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X. The iPhone 8 is already available for purchase but the anniversary model is yet to be released – this may hurt the sales of the flagships and possibly the Cupertino giant’s market share in the second half of the year.
1. Samsung – 23.3%
For years, Samsung has maintained its leading position in the global smartphone market. In the second quarter of 2017, it still leads detached with almost 80 million handsets shipped and a market share of 23.3%. Samsung has released its Galaxy S8 handsets this April, which surely boosted the sales of the South Korean manufacturer. This September, it also released the Note 8, another no-compromise smartphone which will help it consolidate its position in the market for the rest of the year – and beyond.
