Global smartphone shipments are down by -1.1% Y-o-Y (or up by 2.9% Q-o-Q) to 368.8 million units, IDC reports, as 2019 volumes drop to levels below annual shipment levels between 2015 and 2018.
"The full-year decline in 2019 represents the 3rd consecutive year of falling shipments despite the launch of 5G devices and new innovative handsets such as foldables,” the analyst remarks. "Although the overall market dropped once again in 2019, Q4 proved successful for some of the top players such as Apple, Xiaomi, and Oppo, largely due to new models but also shifting focus away from China. Both Xiaomi and Oppo performed well in India and are starting to gain traction in W. Europe in a similar fashion to Huawei a few years ago. Apple performed well domestically as its market share broke fifty percent in Q4 2019. Looking forward, 5G handsets-- and to be more precise, affordable 5G handsets-- will need to be the big catalyst in 2020 to avoid 3 consecutive years of decline."
Moving on to the vendor rankings, Apple leads in Q4 2019 with shipments growing by 7.9% Y-o-Y to 73.8m units. The iPhone 11 series does well in developed regions such as Europe, while the iPhone XR remains popular globally. According to Apple, the iPhone 11 was the top-selling model every week during December 2019, and the 3 new models were the top 3 models throughout Q4 2019. Looking forward, the rumoured "SE" model could gain Apple more share in emerging markets, at least if the price hits a sweet spot for budget-conscious customers.
Samsung falls to 2nd place in Q4 2019 following a Q3 2019 peak. The company sees good results with the affordable A series, although the Samsung shipment trend slowed with fewer launches and a slowdown in domestic 5G device. The arrival of the latest Galaxy S series and a new foldable should give the S. Korean giant a late Q1 2020 push, and IDC predicts 5G versions of the A series devices should hit the market at a much lower price point compared to both S and Note series.
Huawei sees Q4 2019 declines due to large Q3 2019 inventories in China, even as it still works with domestic channel players to push new stock. However the company faces challenges outside of China due to the lack of Google Mobile Services. Xiaomi follows in 4th place as it finds success in the Indian market, while 5th placing Oppo continues to slowly shift focus away from China with the Reno series.
