Emerging Markets Drive Smartphone Sales

Emerging markets increased smartphone sales by 40 percent during the first quarter (Q1) of 2015, according to a new report from Gartner Inc. Global sales to end users increased 19.3 percent in Q1, reaching 336 million units, led by strong growth in emerging markets (excluding China), said Gartner. The fastest growing regions were emerging Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and North Africa.

"During this quarter, local brands and Chinese vendors came out as the key winners in emerging markets," said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner, in a statement. "These vendors recorded an average growth of 73 percent in smartphone sales and saw their combined share go up from 38 percent to 47 percent during the first quarter of 2015."

The report, "Market Share: Devices, All Countries, 1Q15 Update," finds that Apple was the number one smartphone vendor in China – just ahead of Xiaomi – for the first time. iPhone sales increased 72.5 percent in Q1 2015, according to Gartner’s report.

"Apple’s extension into more Asian markets helped it close the gap with Samsung globally. In the same period last year, there was a difference of more than 40 million units with Samsung; this difference has been halved, within one year, to just over 20 million units," continued Gupta.

Although Samsung experienced a decline in sales and share in Q1 (see Table 1), Gupta expects the drop rate to slow with sales of its new S6 smartphones starting in the second quarter of 2015.

Table 1

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q15

(Thousands of Units)

Company	1Q15Units	1Q15 Market Share (%)	1Q14Units	1Q14 Market Share (%)
Samsung	81,123	24.2	85,507	30.4
Apple	60,177	17.9	43,062	15.3
Lenovo*	18,888	5.6	16,721	5.9
Huawei	18,102	5.4	13,450	4.8
LG Electronics	15,428	4.6	11,200	4.0
Others	142,335.6	42.4	111,697.8	39.7
Total	336,054.4	100.0	281,636.8	100.0

Source: Gartner (May 2015)

*The results for Lenovo include sales of mobile phones by Lenovo and Motorola both in 1Q15 and 1Q14.

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Android's share fell slightly while iOS grew year-on-year for the third consecutive quarter (see Table 2), said Gartner.

"Strong iPhone sales in China during the first quarter of 2015 had an impact on Android's performance in that country. Android’s volumes fell by 4 percent year-on-year in China for the first time," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner, in a statement. “The performance of Windows Phone remained flat, mainly due to a weak ecosystem and a less desirable mobile brand, together with a strong and established competitive smartphone market. The upcoming Windows 10 will create a consistent user experience across all devices, but it remains to be seen whether developers will follow.”

Table 2

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 1Q15

(Thousands of Units)

Operating System	1Q15Units	1Q15 Market Share (%)	1Q14Units	1Q14 Market Share (%)
Android	265,012	78.9	227,549	80.8
iOS	60,177	17.9	43,062	15.3
Windows	8,271	2.5	7,580	2.7
Blackberry	1,325	0.4	1,714	0.6
Other OS	1,268.7	0.4	1,731.0	0.6
Total	336,054.4	100.0	281,636.9	100.0

Source: Gartner (May 2015)

Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users only grew 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015 from the same period in 2014, reaching 460.3 million units. Thanks to strong smartphone sales in the emerging markets, Indian and Chinese phone manufacturers increased their footprint in the first quarter, said Gupta.

Table 3

Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 1Q15

(Thousands of Units)

Company	1Q15Units	1Q15 Market Share (%)	1Q14Units	1Q14 Market Share (%)
Samsung	97,986	21.3	110,046	24.5
Apple	60,177	13.1	43,062	9.6
Microsoft	33,002	7.2	49,689	11.1
LG Electronics	19,637	4.3	14,882	3.3
Lenovo*	19,280	4.2	17,292	3.9
Huawei	18,590	4.0	14,574	3.2
Xiaomi	14,740	3.2	9,634	2.1
TCL Communication	14,189	3.1	11,956	2.7
ZTE	12,600	2.7	13,845	3.1
Micromax	8,158	1.8	7,791	1.7
Others	161,901.9	35.2	156,195.0	34.8
Total	460,261.7	100.0	448,966.1	100.0