Gartner Reports Q2 2016 Global Smartphone Sales Up 4.3%
Only Five Companies, Including Samsung, Among Top 10 Global Smartphone Vendors Achieved Sales Growth

Gartner Inc. announced that global end-user smartphone sales in Q2 2016 reached 344 million units, representing a 4.3% increase compared to the same period last year.

While overall mobile phone sales declined by 0.5%, among the top 10 global smartphone vendors, only five companies including China's Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, BBK, and Samsung achieved sales growth.

Anshul Gupta, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner, explained, "Demand for premium smartphones declined in Q2 2016. This is analyzed to be because consumers are waiting for new hardware products to be launched in the second half. Additionally, the 14% decline in feature phone sales appears to have impacted overall mobile phone sales."




In all mature markets except Japan, demand for smartphones declined, with sales down 4.9%. Conversely, in all emerging markets except Latin America, growth was observed, with smartphone sales increasing 9.9%.

Analyst Gupta added, "When combining the market share of the top five smartphone vendors, it increased from 51.5% in the same period last year to 54% in Q2 2016. In particular, Oppo, Samsung, and Huawei led this growth."

During Q2 2016, Samsung widened its market share gap with Apple by nearly 10%. Samsung also demonstrated competitive performance against Chinese manufacturers in Galaxy A and Galaxy J series sales. Additionally, Samsung's new smartphone portfolio contributed to recovering market share in emerging markets.


▲Q2 2016 Global End-User Smartphone Sales by Vendor (Unit: Thousands)

Apple showed continued decline with Q2 sales down 7.7%. Sales decreased not only in North America, its largest market, but also in Western Europe. However, the most severe decline was in mature markets in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific region, which dropped 26%. On the other hand, iPhone sales increased by over 95% year-on-year in Eurasia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Europe, achieving the most notable results.

Among the top five global smartphone vendors in Q2 2016, Oppo recorded the highest growth rate at 129%. This was driven by strong sales of Oppo's R9 product in China and overseas markets.

Analyst Gupta explained, "Features such as image stabilization cameras optimized for selfies and fast charging technology enabled Oppo to pursue niche market strategies in the highly competitive and commoditized smartphone market, driving sales growth."


▲Q2 2016 Global End-User Smartphone Sales by Operating System (Unit: Thousands)


Regarding smartphone operating systems, Android recovered market share lost to iOS, achieving 86% market share in Q2 2016 (see Table 2). This is interpreted as resulting from increased demand not only from mid-to-low-end smartphones in emerging markets but also from premium smartphones. Premium smartphone demand increased 6.5%.

Major Android-using vendors including Samsung, which launched the Galaxy S7, introduced new high-end devices, but Chinese brands such as Huawei and Oppo are also pursuing the premium smartphone market with competitive pricing.

Roberta Cozza, Principal Research Analyst at Gartner, stated, "Google is rapidly evolving the Android platform, and through this, Android-using vendors are also maintaining advantages in smartphone technology. In the smartphone market where commoditization has progressed to a considerable level, Google is focusing on expanding and diversifying the Android platform through additional features such as virtual reality (VR). This will not only enable more intelligent experiences but will also expand into wearables, connected home devices, in-vehicle entertainment, and TVs."