The report also says that Samsung shipped the most number of devices during the quarter followed by Apple, Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi
Global smartphone shipments reached a total of 355.2 million units in the third quarter of 2015, as per a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC). This is a 6.8% increase from the 332.6 million units that were shipped in the during the same period last year. The report also stated that Samsung was the leader in the smartphone market followed by Apple, Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi.
Anthony Scarsella, Research Manager with IDC’s Mobile Phones team said that, the third quarter of the year had placed a significant emphasis on flagship phones as vendors tried to outclass one another in features and design. He added, “New flagship models translated to fiercer competition at the high-end for most players as many will try to challenge both Samsung and Apple for a place among the elite. However, despite the glitz and glamour at the high-end, we still expect the bulk of volume and growth to once again sprout from low to mid-range handsets, particularly in emerging markets.”
Samsung led the way with 84.5 million units shipped in in the third quarter of 2015 this year, a 6.1 per cent increase from last year. The company launched two premium handsets, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5 in August and also saw stronger than normal shipments during the month of September as the iPhone was yet to be launched. Aside from flagship models, sub $200 devices like the Galaxy Core, Grand Prime, and J-series drove a majority of the shipments in emerging markets.
The launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus drove the company’s third quarter shipments to 48 million units. This is a 22.2% increase from the 39.3 million units that it shipped last year. Older Apple devices like the iPhone 5s, 6, and the 6 Plus also sold well during the quarter due to price cuts.
Huawei shipped 26.5 million units during the third quarter, an increase by 60.9 per cent as compared to last year. The company focused on the mid-to-high range market as almost a third of its quarterly shipments were in that price range. The report also stated that while Huawei has seen a rapid growth in China and Europe, it still has a low presence in the US. However, the launch of the Nexus 6P may be a sign that it is ready to compete in the US.
Top Five Smartphone Vendors, Shipments, Market Share and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q3 2015 Preliminary Data (Units in Millions):
Source: IDC
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