The International Data Corporation (IDC), has disclosed the global smartphone shipments record of first quarter 2016, and it looks like the Chinese vendors are facing some serious competition among themselves, as Oppo and Vivo are the new entrants in the Top 5 in the world.
According to IDC report, Samsung has shipped over 81.9 million devices in Q1 2016, and even though it is 0.6 % lower than the Q1 2015 shipments, it has managed to stay at the top position. The company has shipped more devices than Apple and Huawei combined. Apple has already declared that the iPhone sales has declined for the first time in nine years, despite that it remains at the 2nd position by shipping over 51.2 million smartphones.
Huawei however has surprised us all by shipping over 27.5 million smartphones in Q1 2016, which is 58.4 % more than its Q1 2015 record. Looks like Huawei’s premium devices like the P9, Mate Series, and Nexus 6, along with entry-level devices from its Honor brand have managed to clinch the third spot.
Moving on to the other Chinese vendors, Oppo and Vivo have kicked the hugely popular brands like Lenovo and Xiaomi from the top 5 in aspect of global shipments of the devices. Oppo has shipped over 18.5 million smartphones in Q1, which might not be such an impressive number, but it has a growth of over 153.2 % than Q1 in last year. Similarly with the growth of over 123.8 % of shipments than last year’s 6.4 million smartphones in Q1 2016, Vivo sealed the fifth spot for itself.
“Outside of China, many of these brands are virtually unknown and the ability of these rapidly growing Chinese vendors to gain entry into mature markets such as the United States and Western Europe will be essential if they have aspirations of catching Apple or Samsung at the top. Huawei has proven that it can sell increasingly premium devices. In China, Huawei is already recognized as a premium brand, but it is now going toe-to-toe on build quality with premium devices like the Nexus 6P that are available worldwide. While Huawei is furthest along in terms of international recognition, selling equally impressive volumes outside of China remains a challenge for many of these brands, whether it is Xiaomi, Lenovo, OPPO, or vivo. Their ability to drive local growth no longer applies when it comes to international expansion, where premium branding quickly turns to price competition,”
– Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Mobile Phone team.