In a report published by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) brought forth that 375.4 million devices shipped to customers during the fourth quarter of 2018, marking a down 4.9 percent from 2017’s peak marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline. Global shipments in 2018 dipped 4.1 percent, with a total of 1.4 billion units shipped for the full year.
The report says that smartphone vendors shipped a total of 355.6 million units worldwide during Q3 2018, resulting in a 5.9 percent decline compared to the 377.8 million units shipped in Q3 of 2017.
Samsung remained the leader in the worldwide smartphone market despite a 13.4 percent slump last year. The flagship Galaxy J series S9/S9+ helped drive the transfers during the quarter. At the same time, the company continued to take hits from growing competition, especially from Chinese players.
Huawei saw the most significant gains of the top five vendors in the last quarter of 2018, with a leap from 42.1 million units shipped in 2017 to 60.5 million units in December. However, the company is right now hit with criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice and yet managed a 16.1 percent share of the global smartphone market.
Rounding out the top five brands on IDC’s report are Xiaomi and Oppo, which exported a respective units of 29.2 million and 28.6 million in the last quarter of the year. Xiaomi also maintained its fourth position globally with 19.6 percent. The company remained ahead of Samsung, making itself the number 1 position in India.
The few models that helped Redmi to keep its pace were Redmi 5A, 6A, & Note 5/5Pro. Xiaomi continued its effort to grow in other foreign markets through channel partnerships while it witnessed its first annual drop in its domestic market during the quarter.
However, Apple managed to regain its position second beating Huawei on third. iPhone sales contracted in the latter half of 2018 due in large part to an economic slowdown in China. As outlined in the company’s earnings report, net sales in the region dropped from $18 billion to $13.17 billion, or a decline of 26.7 percent, on a year-over-year basis.
In response to the iPhone sales, Apple CEO Tim Cook remarked that the company is rethinking handset pricing in certain international markets. In overall, the global smartphone market seemed to continue to reel from economic headwinds.
