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Research finds that the global smartphone market shrank by the "fastest ever" rate in 1Q2020

Realme posted the best year-on-year growth in 1Q2019. (Source: Realme)
Realme posted the best year-on-year growth in 1Q2019. (Source: Realme)
The market for mobile devices contracted by 13% in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020), compared to 1Q2019. All of its top brands, with the exception of Realme and Xiaomi, also saw declines in terms of shipments and share. However, they may all see even more adversity in 2Q2020.
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Counterpoint Research has released its global smartphone market report for 1Q2020. It shows that shipments in this sector of the tech economy have dipped below 300 million, something that has not, apparently, happened for quite some time.

This worrying indication is, unsurprisingly, attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. It has driven the market down by 13% year-on-year (YoY). The majority of the top 10 OEMs in this space also saw declines in their shipments; however, thanks to their reduced pverall volume, individual companies' share of this market mostly declined by single-figure percentages or stayed flat.

The only brands to see gains in this quarter were Xiaomi and Realme. The latter maintained its excellent record for growth as of late with increased shipments of 157%, whereas the former improved in these terms by 7%.

However, neither OEM is likely to replicate this success in 2Q2020, thanks (again) to the knock-on effect of the global public health crisis in prominent markets such as India.

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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2020 05 > Research finds that the global smartphone market shrank by the "fastest ever" rate in 1Q2020
Deirdre O Donnell, 2020-05- 2 (Update: 2020-05- 2)