According to a new report from Gartner, global smartphones sales grew by over 9% in Q1 of 2017, although Apple and Samsung both lost market share to Chinese smartphone makers (via VentureBeat). Apple’s smartphone sales were flat in Q1, while Samsung watched its sales decline during the period. Meanwhile, a trio of Chinese smartphone brands i.e Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, has been found responsible for the global surge in smartphone sales.
The report notes that consumers purchased 380 million units in the first quarter of 2017 worldwide, which is up 9.1% from the same period a year ago. Furthermore, buyers seem willing to spend a bit more, which means average selling prices are trending up as well. The chief Chinese beneficiaries, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, held a combined market share of 24% in Q1, which is up 7% from a year ago.
“The top three Chinese smartphone manufacturers are driving sales with their competitively priced, high quality smartphones equipped with innovative features,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner, in a statement. “Furthermore, aggressive marketing and sales promotion have further helped these brands to take share from other brands in markets such as India, Indonesia, and Thailand.”
“Similar to Samsung, Apple is increasingly facing fierce competition from Chinese brands Oppo and Vivo, among others, and its performance in China is under attack,” Gupta said.
Samsung’s smartphone market share dropped to 20.7% from 23.3%, while Apple’s market share fell to 13.7% from 14.8%.
