New Delhi: Global smartphone shipments fell 1.2 per cent to 360 million units in the second quarter of 2019, making it the seventh consecutive quarter of decline, research firm Counterpoint said on Wednesday.
A total of 364.3 million units were shipped in the April-June 2018 quarter globally. The research firm attributed the slowdown to sluggish sales in China.
“The smartphone market slowdown is mainly due to China, which has continued to decline for two years now. China alone accounts for over one-fourth of the global smartphone shipments and declined 9 per cent year-on-year during the quarter,” it said.
The heightened US-China trade war during the quarter has further escalated the uncertainties of the smartphone market, it added.
Counterpoint said India remains a key growth market as the shipments set a second-quarter record, growing to 37 million units during the second quarter of 2019.
“The US-China trade war escalated with Huawei added in the entity list in May. Despite the ban, Huawei was able to register a 4.6 per cent growth during the quarter, capturing a 16 per cent market share. The effect of the ban did not translate into falling shipments during this quarter, which will not be the case in the future,” Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak said.
Also, a portion of the decline in 2019 is likely to be compensated by the adoption of 5G, Counterpoint said. “We expect sales of 5G devices to be over 20 million in 2019. Network expansion of carriers, subsidies, and more OEMs committing to early 5G device launches than during the early 4G era,” Counterpoint Research Analyst Varun Mishra said.
