The International Data (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Trackers for the second quarter of 2018 were published and Huawei has overtaken Apple for second place. According to preliminary data, Huawei delivered shipments of 54.2 million units to move into the second position. However, Samsung sits on top with a comfortable lead.
The IDC also reports decline by 1.8% in the second quarter of 2018 (Q218) in the overall market. Smartphones vendors have sold 342.0 million units in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the 348.2 million sold in the second quarter of 2017 (Q217). IDC believes this is the result of churn in some highly penetrated markets. The drop marks the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines for the global smartphone market.
Samsung has remained on top despite a 10.4 % decline in shipments from last year. The arrival of Huawei in the second place means that Apple has not been in the top two for the first time since Q210. It continues to lead the China smartphone market with a record-high market share of 27.0% in Q218. Apple dropped to the third spot for the first time despite its second-quarter growth. Apple shipped 41.3 million iPhones, representing modest growth of 0.7% over the 41.0 million units shipped last year. Xiaomi, and Oppo rest on fourth and fifth with the growth of 48.8% and 5.1% respectively.
| Worldwide Smartphone Market, Top 5 Company Shipments, Market Share, and Year-over-Year Growth, Q2 2018 (shipments in millions) | |||||
| Vendor | Q218 Shipments | Q218 Market Share | Q217 Shipments | Q217 Market Share | Year-Over-Year Change |
| 1. Samsung | 71.5 | 20.9% | 79.8 | 22.9% | -10.4% |
| 2. Huawei | 54.2 | 15.8% | 38.5 | 11.0% | 40.9% |
| 3. Apple | 41.3 | 12.1% | 41.0 | 11.8% | 0.7% |
| 4. Xiaomi | 31.9 | 9.3% | 21.4 | 6.2% | 48.8% |
| 5. OPPO | 29.4 | 8.6% | 28.0 | 8.0% | 5.1% |
| Others | 113.7 | 33.2% | 139.5 | 40.1% | -18.5% |
| Total | 342.0 | 100.0% | 348.2 | 100.0% | -1.8% |
| Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, July 31, 2018 | |||||
Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers says,” The continued growth of Huawei is impressive, to say the least, as is its ability to move into markets where, until recently, the brand was largely unknown. It is worth noting that Apple moved into the top position each of the last two holiday quarters following its product refresh, so it’s likely we’ll see continued movement among the top ranked companies in 2018 and beyond.”