iPhone sales fall 14%, smartphone market in flux says Gartner

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Gartner has reported that global sales of smartphones to end users totaled 349 million units in the first quarter of 2016, a 3.9% increase over the same period in 2015 but iPhone sales are taking a hit. Smartphone sales represented 78% of total mobile phone sales in the first quarter of 2016.

Smartphone sales were driven by demand for low-cost smartphones in emerging markets and for affordable 4G smartphones, led by 4G connectivity promotion plans by carriers across the world.

Oppo continues to grow. The Chinese company, fuelled by strong growth in its home market of China has moved into the number four position with unit sales growth of 145%. Along with Huawei and Xiaomi, Oppo took share from players such as Lenovo, Samsung, and Yulong. Huawei saw strong smartphone demand in Europe, the Americas, and Africa, while Xiaomi and Oppo saw their smartphone sales in emerging Asia/Pacific rise by 20% and 199%, respectively.

Apple had its first double-digit decline year on year, with iPhone sales down 14% despite their "upgrade program" in the U.S. which sweetened deals on the iPhone 6s and 6s. Apple is exploring ways to resell second-hand iPhones coming through the program in emerging markets.

Lenovo disappeared from the top five smartphone vendor ranking as well as the top 10 mobile phone vendor market in the first quarter of 2016.

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q16 (Thousands of Units)

Company

1Q16

Units

1Q16 Market Share (%)

1Q15

Units

1Q15 Market Share (%)

Samsung

81,186.9

23.2

81,122.8

24.1

Apple

51,629.5

14.8

60,177.2

17.9

Huawei

28,861.0

8.3

18,111.1

5.4

Oppo

16,112.6

4.6

6,585.1

2.0

Xiaomi

15,048.0

4.3

14,740.2

4.4

Others

156,413.4

44.8

155,561.4

46.3

Total

349,251.4

100.0

336,297.8

100.0

Source: Gartner (May 2016)

Source: iPhone sales fall 14%, smartphone market in flux says Gartner