Global Smartphone Market Retreats in 3Q... Samsung Maintains No.1 but Market Share Shrinks

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Global smartphone sales in the third quarter declined due to supply shortages. Samsung Electronics maintained its position as the market leader, but its market share shrank by 1.9 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Apple reclaimed the second spot in market share, surpassing Xiaomi.

According to market research firm Gartner on the 25th, global smartphone sales in the third quarter of this year totaled 342,292,800 units, a 6.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. Anshul Gupta, Senior Research Analyst at Gartner, stated, "Despite strong consumer demand, smartphone sales declined due to product launch delays caused by semiconductor chip shortages, extended shipping schedules, and channel inventory shortages."

In particular, mid-to-low-end smartphones were more affected by these supply constraints than premium smartphones. Sales of premium smartphones continued to grow despite the overall contraction of the smartphone market.

By company, Samsung Electronics sold 69,002,700 units, maintaining its number one position. However, its market share decreased to 20.2% from 22.1% in the same period last year, a drop of 1.9 percentage points. Gartner noted, "Despite the overall contraction, strong demand for foldable smartphones drove growth in the premium smartphone market."

Apple, led by the iPhone, took second place. It sold 48,458,600 units in the third quarter, recording a market share of 14.2%, an increase of 3.1 percentage points from a year earlier. Chinese company Xiaomi fell to third place with 44,483,300 units sold. Its market share rose by 0.9 percentage points to 13.0%.

Following are Chinese companies Vivo (10.5%) and Oppo (9.8%). Among the top five manufacturers, Vivo recorded the highest sales growth rate compared to the previous year at 20.9%. Gartner added that Vivo launched 13 new smartphone models in the third quarter alone, entered new markets such as Europe and the Middle East, and accelerated market expansion by adding offline retailers and experience stores.