Global smartphone shipments exceeded one billion

On the morning of September 17, the market research company Juniper Research (Juniper) announced on Tuesday that the global smartphone shipments this year will reach nearly 1.2 billion units, an increase of 19% year-on-year.

According to the report, while developed markets will still account for the majority of global smartphone shipments, the importance of developing regions is increasing for smart phone manufacturers. Juniper pointed out that the gap between mature and emerging markets is narrowing because of the "low-cost" smart phones between $75 and $150 and the "super-economic" phones sold below $75. Both continue to grow substantially.

At the same time, the adoption rate of smart phones in developed markets such as the United States and Europe has begun to reach a saturation point. To be precise, top manufacturers will continue to dominate the “ultra-high-priced” market, and it is expected that the combined proportion of Apple (100.86, -0.77, -0.76%) companies and Samsung in global smartphone shipments this year will increase. Up to 45%. However, according to a report released by another market research firm, Strategy Analytics, in July, the two companies’ share in the global smartphone market declined in the last quarter.

Samsung’s share of the global market fell from 32.6% in the same period last year to 25.2% in the second quarter, and Apple’s share dropped from 13.4% to 11.9%. Juniper pointed out that both companies are facing competition from local players in emerging markets and will continue to face more intense competition in the future.

For example, Xiaomi has used his low-cost mobile phones to take a healthy share in the Chinese and Indian markets. Strategy Analytics reports that in the second quarter, Xiaomi’s share in the global smart phone market increased from 1.8% in the same period last year to 5.1%, becoming the world’s fifth-largest smart phone manufacturer. Its shipments grew from 4.1 million units to 15.1 million. unit.

Of the six smartphone manufacturers tracked by Strategy Analytics, Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi all gained market share in the second quarter, while Apple, Samsung, and LG all experienced declines. Analysts also pointed out that small manufacturers may become more ambitious.

Juniper pointed out in the report: "These new market participants are beginning to establish market share and achieve greater economies of scale, which will ultimately enable them to expand their product portfolio and thus challenge other smartphone segmentation departments in the future."