According to the analysis company Gartner, smartphone sales fell in Q3-2020 by 5.7%, compared to the same period last year, deliveries totaling 366 million units globally.
Although it shows a decline compared to last year, the data for Q3 still indicate a clear improvement in sales, compared to the first half of the year, when the quarantine measures imposed for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a 20% decrease in Q2 sales in Q2. .
Gartner specialists are confident in the chances of reviving the smartphone market, boosted by the winter shopping season and the launch of new smartphone models with 5G. Suggestive for the growing appetite of consumers are also discount campaigns such as Black Friday, which, although carried out almost exclusively online, generated solid sales.
Coming with predictions about the future, the analysis company IDC forecasts for the quarter Q4-2020 a 2.4% increase in smartphone sales, compared to 2019. The increase will be largely attributed to sales of 5G phones, available at prices that make them accessible to the public increasingly wide. According to IDC, the average selling price for a 5G smartphone in 2020 is $ 611, but it will drop to $ 453 by 2024. As before, smartphone sales will also be dominated by Android phones, the offer being much higher. varied in the low-cost range than in the iOS segment.
In terms of brands, Samsung, with its Android devices, leads in the top global sales with 80.8 million units and a market share of 22%. In fact, Samsung and Xiaomi were the only two companies in the top 5 that recorded sales growth in Q3 of 2.2% and 34.9%, respectively. Xiaomi’s sales were so good that the Chinese manufacturer even surpassed Apple in terms of the number of phones delivered.
Also noteworthy: global mobile phone sales – a figure that includes both smartphones and feature phones – fell 8.7% to 401 million units. This highlights not only how few classic phones are being sold at the moment (smartphones can often be even cheaper to buy, depending on the brands involved), but also that these less sophisticated devices are feeling a drop in sales even steeper than expected.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.