Smartphone shipments have been on the decline for the seventh quarter in a row

Smartphone sales fell 3.6% to 331.2 million units in the second quarter, accounting for seven consecutive quarters of decline, according to IHS Markit.

The market has not increased year-on-year since the third quarter of 2017.

The drop in second quarter shipments was widespread, with only Samsung, Huawei, OPPO and TCL Alcatel showing year-over-year growth during the quarter.

The Huawei ban was not in effect throughout the quarter, announced exactly mid-quarter on May 15.
The company shipped 58.7 million smartphones in the second quarter globally, down 1% from 59.1 million units in the first quarter and 8% more in the second quarter of 2018. Huawei’s market share in the second quarter grew at 18%, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Samsung increased shipments by 6% year-over-year to reach 75.1 million units. Samsung early on realized the benefits of Huawei’s troubles, but its second-quarter market share rose to 23% + 2 percentage points from a year ago

Apple continues to face challenges in delivering units – a trend that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Apple shipped 35.3 million iPhones in the second quarter, down 14.6% from 41.3 million units a year ago. They announced that its iPhone decline in the second quarter was down 11.8% from a year earlier, largely due to increased trade promotion in many markets.

OPPO had a successful quarter, deliveries increased 13% to 36.2 million units, an increase of 31.9 million units during the same period last year. The company was a key partner to carriers in Europe during the launch of 5G networks. Even without significant market share in many European markets, OPPO is showing its value to European carriers and is set to grow more this year.

Xiaomi cannot release itself from the pressure of OPPO and Vivo. Xiaomi shipped 31.9 million units in the second quarter, which is almost flat compared to 32.1 million units a year ago.

India continues to play a central role in Xiaomi’s business outside China. However, OPPO and Vivo are also expanding in India. At OPPO, greater focus has been placed on expansion in Europe and India. Like OPPO, Xiaomi is one of the first movers in implementing 5G, partnering with carriers in Europe. As the situation with Huawei unfolded, Xiaomi and OPPO, along with OnePlus and Samsung, were key smartphone makers supporting the earliest 5G networks in Europe.

Another manufacturer that showed positive growth in the quarter was TCL Alcatel. The company delivered 3.8 million units, up from 3.2 million in Q2 2018 – a 16 percent increase.

For many other smartphone brands, business conditions are still tough, with a few signs of improvement on the horizon.

LG Electronics is still struggling with its mobile phone. Its smartphone shipments fell 21 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, after a 24-year decline in the first quarter.

“LG seems to have lost to Xiaomi, OPPO, OnePlus and Samsung during the launch of 5G in Europe,” Hong said.

The combined market share of the top six manufacturers exceeded 80 percent of total deliveries during the second quarter. This represents a record high for the global smartphone business.

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