Global smartphone shipments reached 340 million units in the first quarter of 2021, a 24% year-on-year increase, according to new figures from research company
Strategy Analytics. The company says that’s the highest quarterly growth since 2015.
As well as being driven by consumers replacing older devices, the increase also appeared to be helped by a 5G sales push from Chinese manufacturers.
Linda Sui, Senior Director at Strategy Analytics, said “The China smartphone market had a sensational quarter driven by 5G product success across multiple price tiers. China smartphone shipments were up 35% year-on-year reaching 94 million units in Q1 2021. Globally, the top five vendors combined took a 76% market share in Q1 2021, up from 71% one year ago.”
Samsung remained the largest vendor, shipping 77 million smartphones globally in Q1 2021 (up 32% year-on-year) and accounting for 23% of the market worldwide. They were followed by Apple in second place, with 57 million iPhones worldwide (up 44% YoY). In third place is Xiaomi, shipping 49 million smartphones globally (up 80% YoY), with OPPO in fourth place (38 million units, excluding the Realme and OnePlus brands) and vivo (37 million) in fifth.
Global Smartphone Shipments (M Units) and Market Share (%) by Top Five Vendors. Note: All Q1 2021 smartphone shipment numbers are preliminary version and subject to minor adjustments. (Graphic: Business Wire)