WASHINGTON: Global smartphone shipments in first-quarter 2016 totaled 292 million units, down 18.6% on last quarter and 1.3% on a year ago, due mainly to market saturation, according to market research firm TrendForce. Leading brands such as Samsung and Apple no longer have the same growth momentum as before, so overall shipments depended on contributions from Chinese brands and rising demand in India and other emerging markets.
The combined shipments (including exports) from Chinese brands in first-quarter 2016 reached 125 million units, surpassing the combined shipments from Samsung and Apple for the first time. Chinese brands accounted for 42.9% of smartphone shipments, up from 41.5% last quarter. In their home market, Chinese brands have benefitted from increasing subsidies for 4G smartphones from domestic telecom operators. At the same time, they have gained ground in foreign markets.
As a result, Chinese smartphone makers did not suffer as steep a shipment decline as their foreign competitors in the off-peak season of Q1, notes smartphone analyst Avril Wu. Their combined quarterly shipments fell by only 16%. On the other hand, competition in overseas markets has intensified as major international brands are struggling to maintain their market share. This will continue to put pressure on Chinese vendors’ margins. Apple unlikely to make turnaround for this year’s shipments with iPhone SE; Samsung grew shipments against headwinds
Apple posted its largest ever quarterly decline for iPhone shipments, plummeting 43.8% from 75 million units last quarter to just 42 million units in Q1. Sales of iPhone 6s have been lackluster as the model lacks exciting new features, says TrendForce. Moreover, Apple’s management of channel inventories has become more conservative before the launch of its next iPhone. TrendForce has thus lowered its iPhone shipment estimate for 2016 to 213 million units, a drop of almost 10% compared with last year.
