Smartphone Market Up 11.6% in Q2 on 'Robust Growth' in Emerging Markets, IDC Says
Vendors shipped 337 million smartphones worldwide in Q2, up 11.6 percent from the 302 million shipped in the year-ago quarter, a preliminary report from IDC said. Robust growth in emerging markets drove Q2 shipments past Q1, which IDC called an “above average first quarter." Mobile phone shipments, including smartphones, totaled 465 million, a 0.4 percent slip from the year-ago quarter, IDC said Thursday.
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As feature phone shipments continue to spiral downward, vendors "will continue to attack both emerging and developed markets with competitive smartphones that are both rich in features and low in price," said Anthony Scarsella, IDC analyst. In addition to growth from premium smartphones from Apple, Samsung and others, an “abundance of affordable handsets” drove shipment growth in key markets, Scarsella said.
Apple and Samsung continue to lead the smartphone market, but the segment is becoming increasingly competitive as new entrants emerge, analyst Melissa Chau said. "Chinese players are clearly making gains,” but “every quarter sees new brands joining the market,” Chau said. IDC tracks more than 200 smartphone brands globally, with many focused on entry- and mid-range models and most having a regional or single-country focus, she said.
Although Samsung held the lead in the worldwide smartphone market with 21.7 percent share, it was the only company among the top five with a shipment decline year over year, IDC said. Samsung smartphone shipments slipped 2.3 percent to 73.2 million, IDC said. The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge had mixed results due to a limited supply of edge models that didn’t keep pace with demand, while older Galaxy models “sold briskly” in Q2 due to deep discounts and promotions, IDC said. Next-gen Note 5 and S6 edge plus phones are expected to hit the market next month, it said.
Second-place Apple, with a 14.1 percent market share, saw iPhone shipments jump 34.9 percent to 47.5 million, IDC said. The iPhone again dominated in China in Q2, IDC said, with rapid expansion of 4G networks in China driving momentum for Apple in the Asia/Pacific region. As smartphone saturation continues to climb in new developed markets like China, Apple will look to drive upgrades with “refreshed ‘S’ models” in Q3, it said. Tuesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is growing quickly in China, citing IDC estimates of a 1.9 billion smartphone market in 2019 (see 1507220052).
Strong European and domestic sales in China pushed Huawei into third place as smartphone sales jumped 48 percent to 29.9 million units, IDC said. Huawei's mid- and high-end models -- the flagship P8, Honor series, and Mate 7 handsets -- are showing “sustainable growth” in consumer and enterprise segments, IDC said. Huawei is looking beyond Europe and Asia/Pacific and launched its latest P8 Lite handset in the U.S. as an unlocked model for $250, IDC noted.
Xiaomi, too, is expanding beyond the China market, starting with Brazil, IDC said. That follows 29.7 percent growth year over year in Q2 to 17.9 million units, led by the Mi Note and Redmi 2 handsets, IDC said. Lenovo captured the fifth spot “despite steep home turf competition,” IDC said. Lenovo sold 16.2 million units in the quarter, vs. 15.8 million in the year-ago quarter, IDC said. Outside of China, Lenovo had success in emerging markets such as India with its A600 and A7000 smartphones sold via e-commerce, IDC said. Lenovo’s Motorola brand within the Americas and Europe “continues to thrive” with the affordable second-generation Moto E and mid-range Moto G devices, it said. The pending launches of a third-generation Moto X and Moto G look to be on the horizon for the second half of 2015, it said.