Samsung returns to the top of the smartphone world after Apple’s three month reign as number one
Samsung delivered a leading 76.1 million phones during the first quarter
In the third position was hard-charging Xiaomi as the value-for-money manufacturer shipped 78.3% more handsets during Q1 on a year-over-year basis. The company’s market share was 14% as it delivered 49.5 million phones. Vivo, which had a huge 95.9% annual gain in shipments, finished fourth after shipping 38.2 million handsets for an 11% market share.
Oppo was right behind after delivering 37.8 million phones in the period, up 85.3% from Q1 2020, and also had a market share of 11%. One must keep in mind here that U.S. restrictions on Huawei and the subsequent sale of the latter’s Honor sub-unit have really led to big changes on the “leader board.” Speaking of Huawei, its shipments plunged 70% on an annual basis from 49 million units to 14.7 million as the 18% market share it had same time last year has dropped to 4%.
LG delivered 6.8 million phones from January through March an increase of 26.2% year-over-year. LG’s puny 2% market share globally shows how difficult it has been for the manufacturer to pick up any traction in the smartphone industry.
Not listed in the top ten, Honor, Huawei’s former sub-unit, kicked off its brand new life as an independent phone manufacturer, by shipping 3.6 million smartphones during the first quarter. The company was valued at $15.2 billion at the time of its sale by Huawei to a consortium that includes multiple dealers such as wireless provider China Telecom and several companies backed by the state.
