Worldwide smartphone market surges 27% in Q1.
Worldwide smartphone shipments reached 347m units in Q1 2021, up 27% year on year.
According to the latest data from Canalys, Samsung took first place, shipping 76.5m to take a 22% share, followed by Apple which shipped 52.4m iPhones, for a 15% share.
Xiaomi clocked its best single-quarter performance ever, growing 62% and shipping 49.0m units. Oppo and Vivo completed the top five, shipping 37.6m units and 36.0m units, respectively.
Huawei, which no longer includes Honor, is now in seventh place with 18.6m units, as the former world number one remains shackled by US sanctions.
“In addition to great product value, Xiaomi is now also making strides to recruit local talent, become more channel-friendly and lead in high-end innovation,” said Canalys Research Manager Ben Stanton.
"Its competitors offer superior channel margin, but Xiaomi’s sheer volume actually gives distributors a better opportunity to make money than rival brands. But the race is not over. Oppo and Vivo are hot on its heels, and are positioning in the mid-range in many regions to box Xiaomi in at the low end. Honor is also a looming threat. It has already struck supply chain deals and is now signing distribution agreements to re-enter several markets in the second half of 2021. Xiaomi is leading the pack, but the race has only just started.”
The industry was hit early and hit hard by Covid-19. The first quarter saw companies running into serious supply chain issues as the pandemic first hit China and parts of Asia where most manufacturing occurs. Following that, demand began to slow, as fewer people were interested in buying mobile devices, coupled with broader economic and job impacts.