Global smartphone sales have declined again. The decline has continued to hit Apple hard, though Samsung has managed to bounce back.
Smartphone sales dropped by 1.7% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2019 – down from 374 million in Q2 2018 to 368 million. Much of the decline comes from the higher-end of the smartphone market – explaining why Apple has taken the biggest hit.
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According to analyst group Gartner, Apple has continued to see sales decline – although this slump was smaller than the one it suffered in Q1 2019. Comparatively, Samsung and Huawei have seen a bit of a resurgence.
Apple sold 38 million smartphones in the second quarter of this year – that’s 13.8% down from the same period last year.
Samsung, meanwhile, managed to sell more than 75 million smartphones in the same quarter. That number represents a small growth of 1.1% for Samsung – but growth nonetheless − and it was aided by demand for the company’s Galaxy A-series mid-range line of smartphones.
Huawei didn’t have a great quarter, due to the US trade tariffs on China – with global sales declining year-on-year. However, the Huawei Android ban delays did lead to some positive signs for the company.
Huawei’s market share managed to grow, and the Chinese company sold more smartphones in Greater China than it ever has before.
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Moving from specific companies to regions, China and Brazil were the only countries in the top five biggest countries for smartphone sales to see growth. China was up 0.5% year on year – holding the top position for sales with 101 million. Brazil was up 1.3% with 10.8 million smartphone sales.
Despite the less than stellar sales figures for Apple, the company doesn’t seem to be shying away from pricey products anytime soon. The upcoming Apple Watch 5 will reportedly not come cheap, thanks to the rumoured launch of super-expensive titanium and ceramic models.
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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.
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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.