Global smartphone shipments fall in Q2 for seventh straight quarter

The global smartphone shipments declined for the seventh consecutive quarter. Shipments in the second quarter (Q2) of 2019 were down by 3.6 per cent to 331.2 million compared with Q2 of 2018, according to a IHS Markit report.

But the combined share of the top-six firms exceeded 80 per cent of the total shipment in Q2, which is a record high for the global smartphone business.

Samsung maintained the top rank and increased shipments by 6 per cent year-over-year to 75.1 million units.

The impact of the US ban on Huawei was not strongly visible in Q2. However, it's expected to impact Q3 results. Huawei's market share in Q2 rose to 18 per cent, up 2 percentage points from one year earlier.

"The Huawei ban wasn't in effect for the entire quarter, having been announced on May 15. The company shipped 58.7 million smartphones in Q2, down less than 1 per cent from 59.1 million units in Q1 and up 8 per cent over Q2 of 2018," Jusy Hong, Research and Analysis Director (Smartphone) at IHS Markit, said in a statement.

"In terms of smartphones, Huawei been able to weather the storm. Following a strong Q1 performance, Huawei was one of the few smartphone makers to buck the negative trend in the market in Q2," Hong said.

Apple, meanwhile, continues to face challenges in terms of shipments, a trend that's unlikely to be fixed soon. The company shipped 35.3 million iPhones in Q2, down 14.6 per cent from 41.3 million units a year ago.

Chinese handset maker OPPO had a successful quarter, with shipments rising 13 per cent to 36.2 million units, up from 31.9 million units in Q2 of 2016. The company has been a key partner to carriers in Europe during the rollout of 5G networks.

Even without significant market share in many European markets, OPPO is demonstrating its value to European carriers and is setting itself up for more growth this year.

Xiaomi wasn't able to shake off the pressure from OPPO and Vivo. In Q2, Xiaomi shipped 31.9 million units, showing almost flat growth over 32.1 million units a year ago.