Electronics

According to statistics from the world's leading information technology research and consulting company Gartner, global end-user smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2021 were 328.8 million units, a year-on-year increase of 10.8%. Although the suspension of production and the shortage of parts caused by the new crown epidemic has led to tight supply, global mobile phone sales have increased by 10.2%.

Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner, said: “Due to the second round of the new crown epidemic, India and Vietnam have issued stricter shelter-in-place and factory shutdown orders, while also shutting down retail operations and restricting online delivery. Although smartphone sales are increasing. The beginning of 2021 ushered in a good start, but it was adversely affected in the second quarter. However, the demand for 5G smartphones in areas with high 5G network penetration rates remains strong, driving the growth of leading smartphone manufacturers."

In order to grasp the growth opportunities in the 5G field in the second quarter of 2021, Samsung has expanded its entry-level and mid-range 5G smartphone models. The company remains the number one among the world's five largest smartphone manufacturers (see Table 1). Although it continues to lead the market, Samsung's year-on-year growth rate has slowed down due to supply constraints and production shutdowns.

Table 1. The number of smartphones sold to end users by the world's top five manufacturers in the second quarter of 2021 (unit: 1,000)

The data may not match the total due to rounding. Source: Gartner (September 2021)

Xiaomi's global smartphone sales surpassed Apple in the second quarter, ranking second for the first time. Driven by investment in retail channels and cooperation with telecom operators (CSP), Xiaomi has established a stronger online business and achieved rapid expansion in global markets outside the Asia-Pacific region, resulting in an 80.5% increase in smartphone sales. Apple’s sales increased by 28.3%, and its market share increased by 2.1% year-on-year. Gupta said: "The major markets driven by 5G still have strong demand for the iPhone 12 series of smartphones, and the vigorous promotion of the iPhone 11 series of smartphones has promoted Apple's growth in the price-sensitive market."

Chinese smartphone manufacturers Oppo and Vivo grew 42.4% and 41.6% respectively in the second quarter of 2021. Oppo’s growth comes from aggressively priced mid-range smartphones, a wider distribution network, and strong marketing activities in Western Europe. Vivo is continuing to expand its business in markets outside the Asia-Pacific region, first focusing on the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market.

Gupta said: "As customers favor higher configurations and better user experience, demand for smartphones remains strong this quarter. The pent-up demand in 2020 will continue to benefit global smartphone manufacturers in 2021."