5G smartphone production to touch 500 mn: TrendForce

TrendForce said global 5G smartphone production for 2021 is expected to be about 500 million units, up from last year’s 240 million units. The penetration rate of 5G smartphones is projected to reach 37 percent, up from 19 percent in 2020.
Apple iphone 12 5G smartphone in SingaporeApple is expected to solidify its top status with a market share of 35 percent, up from 31 percent a year earlier.

Oppo is projected to rank second in this year’s 5G smartphone market with a share of 14 percent, up from 9 percent in 2020.

Samsung is estimated to grab 13 percent of the 5G smartphone market share in 2021 up from 11 percent in 2020.

Global smartphone production

Samsung is forecast to retain its position as the world’s top smartphone producer in 2021. The market share of Samsung is likely to drop as other brands will ramp up production of smartphone with the recovery of mobile demand.

Global smartphone production is projected to increase 9 percent on-year to 1.36 billion units in 2021, according to market researcher TrendForce.

Replacement of smartphone and growth in emerging markets will lead to recovery of the smartphone market.

Samsung is forecast to manufacture 267 million smartphones, or 19.6 percent of global production, in 2021, TrendForce said.

Last year, the South Korean tech giant produced 264 million smartphones, accounting for 21 percent of worldwide smartphone production.

Apple is projected to produce 229 million units of iPhones in 2021, up 15 percent from a year earlier. The global market share of Apple in terms of smartphone production volume is estimated at 16.8 percent, up from last year’s 15.9 percent.

China’s Xiaomi is expected to move up one spot to rank third with a production volume of 198 million units in 2021, up 35.6 percent from a year earlier.

Huawei Technologies is forecast to see its ranking drop from third to seventh. Smartphone production volume of Huawei is estimated to plunge to 45 million units in 2021 from 170 million units a year ago due to US export restrictions and the spin-off of its Honor brand, TrendForce said.