Huawei has disappeared from the world of smartphones and Oppo (along with its subsidiaries OnePlus and Realme) is absorbing a lot of the leftover business, putting more pressure on Apple and Xiaomi in the process.
Oppo could soon become the new Huawei
Counterpoint Researchreports that the company consisting of Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme captured a combined 16% market share in May 2021, making it the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung.Breaking that market share down by brand, Oppo was the most popular with a 10% share of global smartphone shipments. Realme followed in second by accounting for 5% and OnePlus added a respectable 1% to the total.
Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research Jene Park noted that Oppo could soon become the “next dominant brand to come from China” after Huawei. The latter also used a multi-brand strategy that included former subsidiary Honor.
Demand for Apple’s iPhone is slowing as the world waits for iPhone 13
Apple, who occupied the second-place spot earlier this year, came third in the month of May. The Silicon Valley-based brand accounted for 15% of global smartphone shipments, down from over 16% at the start of 2021.
The iPhone’s decline in recent months was to be expected, though. Apple hasn’t launched any new models since November and the company’s attention will soon turn to the upcoming iPhone 13 5G series.
Xiaomi, on the other hand, finished in fourth place with a 14% share of shipments. Canalys recently reported that Xiaomi overtook Apple in the second quarter, so the brand is likely to have experienced a very strong June.
