Emerging APAC drives Q2 smartphone sales

Global smartphone sales grew 6.7% year-on-year during the second quarter to 366.2 million units, driven by demand for 4G handsets in emerging markets, according to Gartner.

Greater China and emerging APAC markets collectively accounted for nearly half of global smartphone sales during the quarter, the research firm has estimated.

But China’s share of the overall market has declined from 33.3% a year ago to 27.7% as of the second quarter of 2017, with total unit shipments falling from 114.2 million to 101.5 million over the same period.

By contrast, emerging APAC’s share increased to 21.4% from 17.3% a year earlier, with shipments growing from 59.4 million to 78.2 million.

“Although demand for utility smartphones remains strong, there is growing demand in emerging markets for 4G smartphones, with more storage, better processors and more advanced cameras. This is translating into higher demand for midpriced [$150 to $200] smartphones,” Gartner research director Anshul Gupta commented.

Globally, Android increased its lead with a market share of 87.7%, compared to 12.1% for iOS, down from 12.9% a year earlier. Samsung meanwhile saw its sales grow 7.5% year-on-year after three consecutive quarterly declines associated with the recall of the Galaxy Note 7.

But the Galaxy S8 and S8+ are bringing back high demand for Samsung smartphones. “Despite growing competition from Chinese brands such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, we expect Samsung to register growth in 2017,” Gupta said.