China’s biggest phone makers—Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Realme—attained a combined global market share of 42%, the highest ever level in the second quarter, according to the data released by Counterpoint Research.
According to Varun Mishra, a research analyst at Counterpoint, Chinese brands have been performing better than their global counterparts, because “their strategies are more aligned to the local needs.”
This favorable outcome comes in the midst of a 1.2% year-on-year decline in the number of global smartphone shipments. In all, 360 million units were shipped, making it the seventh consecutive decreasing quarter.
Samsung remains top dog with a steady 7.1% growth. It shipped 76.60 million smartphones across the globe, with the South Korean giant capturing over one-fifth of the worldwide market share.
Despite the ongoing US ban on Huawei, China’s biggest phone maker managed to register a 4.6% increase in second quarter shipments, securing almost 16% of the global market share.
However, because the ban kicked in late into the quarter, Huawei is expected to see a decline in overseas shipments in the third quarter. According to Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint, Huawei will be more aggressive in its home market to keep shipment numbers level.
Another surprise was that Apple, while remaining third, saw its market share fall by 12%.
Shenzhen-based phone maker Realme became one of the top ten brands for the first time, with 4.7 million units shipped. This is mainly due to a strong presence in India, where it was first launched as a sub-brand of Oppo. It was spun off and established as a standalone brand that is among India’s five most popular mobile phone brands.