Samsung dominates global smartphone shipments in Q3 2021, Apple beats Xiaomi

Samsung retained its overall top position in the global smartphone market, though its market share declined by 1.9 percent year-over-year. In the third quarter of 2021, the market also witnessed a 6.8 percent shipment decline, as per a report published by Gartner. The reason behind the decline is the shortage of components, which disrupted production schedules, leading to lower inventory and delayed product availability.

“Despite strong consumer demand, smartphone sales declined due to delayed product launches, longer delivery schedule and insufficient inventory at the channel,” said Anshul Gupta, senior research director at Gartner. “Supply constraints impacted the production schedule of basic and utility smartphones much more than premium smartphones.”

But even with the overall decline, Samsung saw strong demand for its premium smartphones, which was driven by its foldable smartphones. The company is dominating the global smartphone market with a 20.2 market share. Chinese smartphone vendors such as Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo also saw an increase in market share by 1 percent, 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent respectively, year-over-year. The report also showed that Apple managed to beat Xiaomi and garnered the second spot with a 14.2 market share.

Apple also experienced strong demand for iPhones, which was led by compelling feature upgrades and an underpenetrated 5G installed base. “Apple continues to revamp its online channel and position trade-in programs to accelerate demand for its 5G iPhones through the rest of 2021,” the report stated.

Xiaomi moved to third position in the third quarter of 2021 with a 13.0 market share. The Chinese brand’s strong online channel-led strategy for market expansion in Europe and the Middle East and partnering with communication service providers (CSPs) in these regions helped them increase their global smartphone market share in Q3, 2021.

Among the top five global smartphone vendors, Vivo registered the highest year-over-year growth (20.9 percent) in the third quarter of 2021. The company launched several new smartphones in the quarter, which helped them gain attraction. The brand also made a debut in new markets, including Europe and the Middle East, and added new offline retailers and experience stores, which the cited source says worked for Vivo.