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

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.