Xiaomi increases sales in the first quarter of 2020, while Samsung, Huawei and Apple have a decline

The global smartphone market is in recession and sales fell below 300 million units for the first time in six years (13% down) for the first quarter of 2020.

Η Counterpoint Research attributes it to his pandemic COVID-19, which interrupted the recovery signs observed in late 2019 and severely affected demand in China.

But let's see in more detail how this translates into the sales of the largest companies in the field.

Samsung suffered severely in early 2020 

Η Samsung continued to lead the global smartphone market for eight consecutive years, and between January and March 2020, the South Korean giant shipped 51 million devices representing 20% ​​of the market. These numbers are certainly impressive, but represent a sharp drop. 18% from the previous quarter, in which Samsung reported 71 million smartphone sales and had a market share of 21%.

Although not specified by Counterpoint, the decrease is believed to be partly related to the release of the series Galaxy S20. The new flagships did not have the expected sales due to their high prices and suffered further from the impact of the pandemic.

Counterpoint also believes that the low-cost smartphone segment will be more affected by the pandemic this year. Samsung relies heavily on this market for its sales volume, and is certainly another factor that played a role in the decline.

Huawei continued in second place

Despite severe adversity in China during the quarter and the impact on international sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the ongoing US trade ban, Huawei managed to finish the first quarter of 2020 in second place, behind Samsung.

The company shipped a total of 49 million smartphones this quarter, thanks to an unexpected increase in sales in China - it was the only major manufacturer to continue to grow in the Chinese market, helping to offset some of the losses had in international markets.

Annual sales were slightly higher than the industry average, managing to maintain a stable market share of 17%.

More than half of Huawei smartphone sales now come from China, and although the company is expected to remain strong in China, it is also expected to see a larger decline in overall sales in the second quarter of 2020 due to the collapse in sales in Europe. but the decline in interest in the company's newer products.

Apple performed relatively well during the quarter

Apple did relatively well throughout the quarter, thanks to a very good January in the Chinese market and higher sales in other countries, before the pandemic began to affect demand across Europe and the US in end of March.

According to information, his company Tim Cook sold about 40 million iPhones over the three-month period, down 5%. As Apple itself confirmed yesterday, its revenue from iPhones decreased by 7% for the same period.

However, the overall decline in sales of Smartphones observed in all markets worldwide, led to an increase in its market share from 12% to 14% for the first quarter of 2020. If demand for the iPhone SE proves strong and Huawei will experience another big drop in the second quarter of 2020, then Apple will soon be able to find a short distance from the second place in sales.

Xiaomi and Realme were the best moments

They were followed by Xiaomi and Realme in fourth and seventh place, respectively, who also saw the largest increases in their sales according to the data of today's report. Both manufacturers reported growth despite the global pandemic due to their strong performance in the Indian market.

Xiaomi managed to increase its sales by 7% year on year, selling a total of 29,7 million smartphones and gaining 10% of the market share. Realme, on the other hand, showed an explosive growth of 157%, selling a total of 7,2 million units and gaining a market share of 2%.

Filling in the gaps between Xiaomi and Realme, we have Oppo and the Vivo, which managed to sell 22,3 and 21,6 million devices respectively, representing 8% of the global market share.

Not good news for Motorola and LG 

Completing the list we have Motorola owned by Lenovo, and LG. The former managed to sell 6 million units representing 2% of the global smartphone market, from 9,5 million sales and 3% of the market share it had a year earlier. While LG sold a total of 5 million devices and had a market share of 2%, from the 6,5 million sales in the first quarter of 2019.

If sales of the two companies do not improve in the coming months, both manufacturers are expected to be out of the top ten and relegated to the "others" category, as was the case with Sony and HTC.

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