Top 10 smartphone vendors in Q1 2018

Analyst firm IHS Markit has released the latest statistics on the global smartphone industry for the first quarter of 2018.
10 smartphone vendors in Q1 2018Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo are the top five smartphone makers in the world. Vivo, LG, Motorola/Lenovo, ZTE and TCL-Alcatel are the next five smartphone vendors in the top 10 list. ZTE and Sony are part of the top 10 smartphone makers list prepared by IHS Markit.

Indian phone makers such as Karbonn, Micromax, Lava International and Reliance Jio did not find a space in the top 10 list of smartphone suppliers.

Global smartphone shipments increased 2 percent year on year and decreased 11 percent quarter on quarter to 345.5 million units in the first quarter of 2018, said IHS Markit analyst Jusy Hong.

The IHS Markit report said Xiaomi has achieved growth ahead of the market since the second quarter of 2017. The company’s focus on increasing offline distribution — via additional Mi stores and retail partnerships in China and India — has paid off.

There was a dip in the smartphone shipments from Oppo and Vivo for the second consecutive quarter. Both device companies had achieved double-digit growth until the third quarter of 2017. China’s saturated smartphone market, their local smartphone market and hurdles from overseas expansion, resulted into lower shipments for Oppo and Vivo.

Apple’s shipments of iPhone X, its costly flagship model, declined. Apple has shipped 30 million of this super-premium model in the first two months after launch last November, but less than half as many iPhone X units shipped in Q1 2018.

Shipments of other new iPhone models could be disappointing, on the back of Apple’s $50 price increase over the previous model, without any meaningful upgrade. The price increase pushed the average selling price of iPhone to $728 in the first quarter, up from $655 at the same time last year.

Phone shipments from Chinese manufacturers – excluding Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo — continue to decline. ZTE is facing an especially unclear future for its smartphone business. Last month, the US Department of Commerce activated a Denial Order against ZTE.

Huawei shipments grew despite a troubled first quarter in the US. A carrier announcement fell through, and the company seems to have shifted focus to markets where it is performing well already and sees room for further growth.