As the smartphone market flatlines, two newcomers have upset the order of things.
If you thought Apple’s poor iPhone performance was entirely a case of Apple resting on its laurels, think again. The whole smartphone business is experiencing turbulence.
Just take a look at the top five smartphone manufacturers list for the first quarter of 2016, as provided by IDC. Samsung and Apple still top the table, of course, and Huawei is sitting pretty in third. But it’s all change below them.
Out of the top five go established Chinese giants Xiaomi and Lenovo, and in come their lesser-known local rivals, Oppo and Vivo.
Another point of interest is the amount of market share Apple has lost in a year. While Samsung has lost just 0.6 percent of its dominant market share year-on-year, Apple has given up a massive 16.3 percent.
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Meanwhile Huawei gained a healthy 58.4 percent, and the two newcomers gained a massive 153.2 percent (for Oppo) and 123.8 percent (for Vivo).
Both Oppo and Vivo are known for offering well-specced phones that sell for a lot less than Samsung’s and Apple’s flagships. Clearly that’s having a massive effect in China, which is the biggest and most influential smartphone market in the world.
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Of course, Huawei in third place also has some kind of presence outside of its home country. That could be the biggest challenge for Oppo and Vivo, just as it is for Xiaomi, as smartphone demand in China is tailing off dramatically.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
