About 819,000 foldable smartphones were sold globally in Q2, up 147% sequentially and 0.3% growth year over year, reported Display Supply Chain Consultants Monday. In Q3, DSCC expects 215% quarter-on-quarter and 480% year-over-year increases to 2.6 million. It’s forecasting 46% quarter-on-quarter and 450% year-over-year growth in Q4 to 3.8 million. It credits the launch of Samsung’s “aggressively priced” Z Flip 3, $999, and the debut of Samsung’s “full featured” Z Fold 3, $1,799. “These attractive products are backed by a reported $2B spend by Samsung in promotions and marketing which are significantly increasing consumer awareness of foldable smartphones,” said DSCC CEO Ross Young.

T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile retail presence will more than double via Walmart, said the carrier Monday. New Walmart shopping locations are to open Oct. 18 and will bring 5G to more of the country, said Jon Freier, executive vice president-T-Mobile Consumer Group. E-commerce continues to grow, but retail stores “remain one of the primary places where wireless customers pick up devices and service,” he said. Consumers can shop for phones at Metro by T-Mobile displays with an option of three unlimited 5G monthly plans. Beginning Nov. 1, the premium Magenta Max plan will be available, including Netflix on Us and one free year of Apple TV+. T-Mobile’s Extended Range 5G covers 305 million people; 165 million of those are covered with Ultra Capacity 5G, which is expected to cover 200 million people by year-end. Other carriers at Walmart are AT&T, Verizon, Straight Talk and Tracfone.

Xiaomi leapfrogged Apple for the No. 2 global smartphone share behind Samsung as all vendors sold 328.8 million handsets to end users in the second quarter, up 10.8% from a year earlier, reported Gartner Wednesday. Xiaomi sold 51.07 million units in the quarter for 80.5% year over year growth, giving it 15.5% share to Samsung’s 17.6%, said Gartner. Apple's share grew to 15% from 12.9% a year earlier, but that 28.3% unit growth couldn’t keep pace with Xiaomi’s. Samsung expanded its 5G smartphone lineup at entry and midrange prices to target growth opportunities in 5G segments in the quarter, said Gartner. Samsung maintained top global share, but its year-over-year unit growth slowed to 5.5% “due to supply constraints and production disruptions,” it said. Top Xiaomi executives on a quarterly earnings call last week rejoiced about their brand’s new No. 2 global standing and said their goal is to overtake Samsung for top share within three years (see 2108260003).

Xiaomi’s global smartphone business “achieved significant milestones” in Q2 when it rose to the No. 2 brand position behind Samsung, with 16.4% share, and was ranked No. 1 in Europe for the first time, said President Wang Xiang on a Wednesday earnings call. Its premium smartphone shipments exceeded 12 million units globally in 2021's first half, compared with 10 million in all of 2020, he said. Q2 revenue reached 87.8 billion yuan ($13.5 billion), up 64% from a year earlier. Xiaomi’s global smartphone shipment numbers increased 82.9% year over year, “the highest growth rate among the top smartphone companies,” said Chief Financial Officer Alain Lam. Xiaomi’s ambitions are to become the world’s top smartphone company within three years, based on unit shipments, said Wang. It currently trails Samsung by about 100 million handsets a year, but hopes to gain ground in Europe and exploit the “very big potential” for growth in Latin America and Africa, he said. Samsung didn’t respond to questions Thursday.

Samsung is doing a “thorough investigation” into reports a Galaxy A21 smartphone caught fire aboard an Alaska Airlines flight Monday, the company emailed Wednesday, calling safety a “top priority.” A Tuesday Verge article reported the incident, said to involve a Galaxy A21, though a spokesperson for the Port of Seattle said the phone was “burned beyond recognition.” An Alaska Airlines spokesperson told The Verge the plane’s crew used fire extinguishers and a battery containment bag to “stop the phone from smoking.” Passengers were evacuated from the plane via slides “due to hazy conditions inside the cabin,” and two were treated at a local hospital, said the report.

Global Q2 smartphone shipments grew 13.2% year over year to 313.2 million handsets, further evidence “this market is headed back toward sustained growth,” reported IDC Thursday. All regions contributed to the growth except China, where shipments declined 10% from the 2020 quarter. IDC blamed the Chinese decrease on the lack of flagship product launches there, plus weaker than expected consumer demand and “the further decline of the Huawei brand.” Shipments of 5G phones are “on the rise,” especially in developed markets, “but we continue to believe that consumers are not yet buying specifically for 5G,” said IDC analyst Ryan Reith. “They are buying because they need a replacement device, and in some cases a first-time smartphone.” With Huawei shipments waning and LG exiting the smartphone business, “market share is up for grabs,” resulting in “some significant shifts in the market positions” of the surviving companies during the quarter, said IDC. Xiaomi moved into the second position for the first time in Q2, pushing Apple down to third. Samsung stayed the market leader in Q2, but with only a 2-point edge over Xiaomi, compared with its 5.9-point lead over Apple in the year-earlier quarter.

Samsung’s “mild growth” in smartphone shipments in Q2, growing 5.6% to 57.3 million, was due to supply constraints of key components and reduced operations at production facilities due to the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 in India and Vietnam, said Omdia Thursday. The global smartphone market grew 6.9% year on year to 299.1 million units, said the research firm. First-half shipments were up 17.4% to 651.8 million vs. the first six months of 2020, it said. Xiaomi took No. 2 for the first time, shipping 49.9 million units, a 73% bump, for 17% share. Samsung held No. 1 with 19% share; Apple, with 42.9 million shipments, had 16%, it said, followed by oppo and vivo, each with 11%. In Q3, global smartphone shipments are expected to turn to negative growth vs. the 2020 quarter due to continued supply shortages and reduced demand, said analyst Jusy Hong.

CTIA reported Thursday that some 34% of active smartphones can get the latest generation of wireless emergency alerts, up from 18% last year. A majority will be capable next year, said a filing posted Thursday in FCC docket 15-91: Since they began in 2012, more than 61,000 WEAs have been sent.

IPhone 12 models were 63% of Q2 U.S. iPhone sales, while customers traded in fewer older phones, reported Consumer Intelligence Research Partners Thursday. A survey of 500 Apple customers who bought an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch April-June showed the share of trade-in phones 3 years old or more decreased for the first time “in many quarters,” said the research firm. “Increased consumer spending correlated with consumers shifting to more expensive iPhone models as they retired older phones,” said analyst Mike Levin. Consumers shopped more at Apple’s retail locations for iPhones, with 27% of iPhones bought through Apple retail, a high, vs. 16% in Q2 2020, Levin said. Two-thirds of iPhone buyers bought their phones through a carrier, vs. 77% in Q1, with 2% at Best Buy and 5% elsewhere. In the 12 months ended June, 37% of buyers had their previous phone for two years or less; 30% for three-plus years.

Xiaomi became No. 2 global smartphone vendor for the first time in Q2, reported Canalys Thursday. The Chinese phone maker had 17% share on 83% shipment growth, behind market leader Samsung, which grew shipments 15% for 19% share. Apple’s share was 14% on 1% unit growth, followed by Oppo and vivo with 10% share each.