The study noted that demand for premium smartphones remained lower than for basic smartphones. This trend affected brands such as Samsung and Apple. Demand for utility smartphones declined on slower upgrades to smartphones from feature phones. Gartner said this was due to the fact that 4G feature phones give users advantages at a lower cost. Meanwhile, rising prices and slowing innovation in flagship smartphones continued to extend replacement cycles.
Samsung’s market share in the quarter slipped to 19.2 percent from 20.5 percent the year before, on shipments down to 71.621 million from 78.564 million. Huawei raised its share of the market to 15.7 percent from 10.5 million, with its shipments going higher to 58.436 million from 40.426 million. In Greater China, the company commanded a market share of 29.5 percent. In third place, Apple’s market share fell to 11.9 percent form 14.1 percent, with shipments sliding to 44.568 million form 54.058 million. Oppo lifted its market share to 7.9 percent from 7.3 percent, with shipments increasing to 29.602 million from 28.173 million. The trend was similar for Vivo, which advanced market share and shipments to 7.3 percent and 27.368 million, from 6.1 percent and 23.243 million. The market share for the rest decreased to 37.9 percent from 41.5 percent, on shipments going lower to 141.405 million form 159.037 million.
