Apple's global smartphone market share fell to 14.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016, down from 17.9 percent in the same period the previous year, despite a 3.9 percent growth in overall smartphone sales compared to Q1 2015, according to Gartner (via DigiTimes).
The number of smartphones delivered to end users in Q1 totalled 349 million globally, compared to 336 in the same period in 2015. Apple shipped 51.6 million iPhones to maintain its number two spot in the top five largest makers, while Samsung reached unit sales of 81.2 million to maintain its position as number one. The figures show Samsung extended its lead over Apple in the same period with a 23.2 percent market share, despite a slight decline from 24.1% in Q1 2015.
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Oppo had the best performance in the first quarter of 2016, moving into the number 4 position among the top-five smartphone vendors with unit sales growth of 145%. Like Huawei and Xiaomi, Oppo saw strong growth in China, taking share from the likes of Lenovo, Samsung and Yulong, Gartner indicated.
The overall growth in smartphone sales was put down to a demand for low-cost handsets in emerging markets and more affordable 4G promotion plans globally.
In a separate note disclosed by research firm IDC yesterday, more Google Chromebooks were sold in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2016 than Apple's entire Mac line.
Apple's Mac shipments are estimated to have been around 1.76 million in Q1 this year, according to an IDC analyst who spoke to The Verge, while combined estimates for Dell, HP, and Lenovo put the number of low-cost Chromebooks sold at 2 million in the same quarter.
IDC put the Chromebook's sales growth down to their appeal in the education sector, with wide uptake across K-12 schools in the United States. The milestone also comes at a time when Mac sales have held steady while PC shipments have seen an overall decline, making the news more of a concern for Microsoft as it tries to maintain its dominance in the low-cost laptop market.
The research firm also predicted a "modest rebound" over the coming months as buyers consider transitioning to Windows 10 and a continued increase Chromebook sales.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)But dont worry, Tim Cook has a super "innovative" plan here! Rather than having a word with his software department regarding its recent software quality standards or releasing real hardware innovations, Apple is about to conquer the Indian market...
Thats not the Apple i have grown to love in the past... Good luck nontheless.
As soon as I can get Galaxy S7 Edge (or very similar truly innovative, waterproof, awesome phone) with pure Android, I'm out. The hardware part of many Android flagships has long surpassed anything Apple offers. And the Android software not only has caught up - it is vibrantly alive and bursting with real innovation. All the services, voice recognition, VR, Google Home, Maps etc etc - all is lightyears ahead of the nickel-and-diming "innovators-my-ass" (I used to love Apple keynotes, now I just can't stand the smug Schiller & co).
This does not take into account the iPhone has dominant market share in Canada, Australia, Japan and varies between 48/52% market share in the UK and US on a year by year basis.
In a report about the world smartphone market share, how is singling out the market share in CAN, AUS, JPN, UK, and US going to be relevant? Also in a report about world market share, do you think the aforementioned countries are not a part of the world? Or somehow didn't get counted?If you do take your information into account, how would it change the world market share? I haven't had coffee yet so I'm confused.
Smartphones, which in the end are just small computers with a small display, are finally just a common commodity to most of the world. Only in a wealthy countries is it still fashionable to have an "expensive" one to show off. The functionality of a cheap $150 smartphone is the same as a $950 iP6s+128 for the vast majority of people, so when having a fancy smartphone ceases to be fashionable, uh oh.
I have bought 4 iPhones in the last 8 years, but never for fashion. This sounds like a comment from someone who has never tried Windows or Android (or an iPhone). Well, I have, and I kept coming back because the iPhone works the best. Saying people buy it for fashion is a red flag to me, akin to reading "iSheep".Residents of poor countries never had the option of being fashionable in the first place, which is why iPhone has never been a factor in the third or second world.
I've always wondered about the wisdom of Apple positioning itself as a fashion company. It's been working so far however, so I guess Apple is being run by people way smarter than me.