Eighteen months after releasing its first device, HMD joins the ranks of the top ten smartphone brands

The rejuvenated Nokia brand has grown massively. (Source: Yle)

The biggest headline from Counterpoint Research's newest report on the smartphone market may have been Huawei's dethroning of Apple to become the second-largest smartphone company in the world, but equally impressive is HMD's showing in the global market.

by Ricci Rox, 2018/08/06

HMD re-introduced the Nokia brand to the smartphone market in February last year with the unveiling of the Nokia 6 at MWC. Over the next ten months, the company grew its market share and unit shipments to an impressive level, ending 2017 ahead of companies like Sony.

If you thought the company’s growth would slow down after that, you’d be wrong, as HMD recorded an even more outstanding Q2 this year, ending the quarter as the ninth-biggest smartphone brand in the world. For some perspective, this also places HMD in front of companies like OnePlus, Meizu, and Google.

Most astonishing of all is the company's growth rate. According to Counterpoint, HMD saw an astronomical 782% year-on-year growth, which surely is one of the largest year-on-year growth margins ever seen on a global scale in the smartphone market. Of course, it makes a bit more sense when one considers the fact that by the end of Q2 2017, HMD was only still finding its feet in the market.