Global smartphone market hits 380mn units in Q3, Samsung tops the list

Showing a sign of recovery, the global smartphone market saw 380 million units in shipments, as compared to 379.8 million units in Q3 2018, Counterpoint Research said on Thursday.

Samsung led the market with 21 per cent share with strong demand for its A and Note smartphone series while Huawei reached a record high with 18 per cent share.

Realme was the fastest growing brand, reaching the 7th spot globally.

"The global smartphone market ended a long period of continuous YoY declines in Q3 2019 due to increased shipments in India and China," said Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research.

The top three brands, Samsung, Huawei and Apple, together cornered almost half of the smartphone market, with the rest of the market left for hundreds of other brands to compete fiercely.

Apple iPhone shipments were down 4 per cent, and as a result, revenues fell 11 per cent YoY.

The positive response for the latest iPhone 11 series during the tail end of the quarter is a silver lining for Apple going into the holiday season quarter, said the report.

Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, said that the US trade ban on Huawei did not affect the overall brand's shipments and growth in Q3 2019 after the uncertainties in June.

"Huawei's strategy to supplement its decline in overseas market share with domestic push paid off handsomely.

"The rising sense of nationalism towards Huawei amidst US-China trade war coupled with aggressive go-to-market strategy in China helped Huawei boost mindshare and marketshare domestically," Pathak noted.