The smartphone market shows a decline during the first quarter of 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The smartphone sales decline was drastic and dropped by millions in the last few months. However, manufacturers are non-specific about sales numbers. IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone tracker said “the largest annual (year over year) decline ever” at about 11.7 percent.
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics says” Samsung’s global market share is holding steady at over 21 percent, and it remains the world’s top smartphone brand”. After Samsung, Huawei stands next to it. Apple comes next after Huawei, most of the manufacturers are hit by the decreased sales. Surprisingly, some manufacturers got some growth this quarter compared to last quarter. Xiaomi, Vivo, and owing has seen strong growth in India due to the continuous release of smartphones and huge promotions. These companies marketed most of the smartphones before lockdown.
Till this lockdown ends, the sales are not going to increase. Moreover, things are likely to get worse before they get better. Canalys Senior Analyst Ben Staton says” Most smartphone companies expect Q2 to represent the peak of the coronavirus’ impact”.