WASHINGTON: The number of smartphone shipments reached 342.5 million in Q3, with a slowed year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent, according to estimates from Juniper Research.
Apple posted another record-breaking quarter, with 48 million unit sales, compared to 39 million iPhones sold in Q3 2014. Samsung is beginning to turn its mobile unit around, with increased unit shipments and a 37 percent year-on-year increase in profitability.
Xiaomi sold an estimated 18.4 million smartphones, with the slowdown in China exacerbating the company’s troubles in the international market. This meant that Huawei was the best performing Chinese vendor of the quarter, shipping 27.4 million devices, up 63 percent on shipments for this period last year.
Despite a 32 percent year-on-year decline in shipments, Sony announced plans to open a new smartphone factory in Thailand. This will start production in fiscal 2016, putting to rest rumours that the CEO was preparing to axe the division.
A similarly sharp sales drop from Microsoft is being blamed on an ‘updated strategy’: this is a reference to the shift away from devices onto a more platform-based business model.
The 54 percent revenue decline is matched by a 38 percent year-on-year decline in unit sales, representing 5.8 million shipments for Q3. LG has posted their first ever Q3 year-on-year decline in smartphone sales along with a drop in profits from both declining sales and unfavourable exchange rates.
BlackBerry sales continue to dip ahead of its Android launch, with sales estimated to have dropped below 1 million devices for the first time since 2005. Asus’ smartphone presence is steadily growing, with an estimated 6 million units shipped this quarter.
