An analysis of global smartphone shipments shows second quarter volumes increased 13% year-over-year but were still at their lowest point since 2015.
IDC on Thursday said 313 million devices shipped in the second quarter of 2021, in a sign of a continued rebound from the 2020 pandemic. “The smartphone market has been fortunate enough to not experience the severe supply constraints as the automotive, PC and display industries,” said Ryan Reith, program vice president at IDC, in a statement.
Even so, 313 million devices is 7% behind the 337 million that IDC reported back in the second quarter of 2015 and ahead of the 301 million shipped in that quarter in 2014, according to a Fierce Electronics review of IDC tallies. Shipments surged to 348 million in second quarter 2017 before beginning an annual decline that dropped to 278 million in second quarter 2020.
Despite Reith’s relative optimism, Apple earlier this week said it sees chip supply constraints will be greater in the third quarter than the second quarter. The impact will be on legacy chips used to drive displays and decode audio, not high-end processors, Apple said, without specifying the size of the impact.
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“The pandemic is far from over, yet consumers around the world continue to show the need for mobile devices and a willingness to spend,” Reith added.
Interestingly, Reith said buyers are not buying specifically for 5G capabilities, even though carriers are heavily promoting 5G with a number of deals. Instead, “they are buying because they need a replacement device and, in some cases, a first-time smartphone,” he said.
"Consumers in most places around the world are generally happy with 4G speeds, as well as the amount of time their phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. 5G networks and use cases will evolve, but right now the buying is generally for a new device/upgrade," Reith said via email.
Apple fell to third place globally in the second quarter, behind Samsung in the top spot and Xiaomi in the second position. That meant Samsung had nearly 19% of the market, with Xiaomi at nearly 17% and Apple had 14%.
All Chinese brands like Xiaomi are growing rapidly, but Xiaomi grew by 87% year-over-year, a record.
But Apple still does well in the high-end segment in China, controlling 72% share of the smartphones priced greater than $800, IDC noted.
Even though Apple fell to third globally, it reported nearly $40 billion in sales of iPhones in the second quarter, an improvement of 50% annually.
