Numbers from the International Data Corporation (IDC) have confirmed the rumored slump in the smartphone market, with global sales dropping by 2.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
The IDC report points to a decline in Chinese smartphone sales as one of the principle drivers of the reduction, which saw
This tallies with older reports and predictions on expensive smartphones. Samsung’s financial report in late April predicted a slowdown of premium
Results for individual manufacturers has been mixed, with Samsung holding its leading position in the
Apple seems mostly immune to the slump, with iPhone sales increasing by 2.8 percent. Despite rumors of poor iPhone X sales, Apple stated that the latest flagship was consistently the top seller in March. With rumors of cheaper iPhones in the near future, expect Apple’s star to stay high.
Premiere Chinese brand Huawei also saw increases in the first quarter of 2018, increasing its sales by 13.8 percent. While a steady third place in global sales, Huawei must have its eyes set firmly on Apple’s second place, though with 13 million units in sales separating the two, it seems unlikely that Huawei will catch up to Apple soon. Xiaomi saw a massive boost of 87.8 percent on the previous year’s first quarter — a victory that the IDC contributes to its large sales growth outside of China.
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