Huawei is outside the top five in the smartphone market

Huawei is outside the top five in the smartphone market

Huawei is outside the top five in the smartphone market Smartphone shipments in China experienced strong growth that was above the global average in the first quarter of 2021.

Chinese brands Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are three of the top five brands in the global rankings, according to new data from market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Shipments to the Chinese market are up 35% year-on-year, compared to around 24% worldwide.

The growth spurt, driven by strong consumer demand to replace outdated devices and strong pressure on 5G phones from Chinese vendors, was the highest since 2015.

Xiaomi ranked third among the global sellers for the second consecutive quarter, lagging Samsung and Apple in the first and second places, respectively.

The Beijing-based company's market share, which is now 15 percent, is 10 percent higher than last year.

“Xiaomi has maintained strong momentum in both India and China, and expansion into Europe, Latin America and Africa is starting to bear fruit as well,” Strategy Analytics' Director of Smartphone Research said.

Excluding its subsidiaries Realme and OnePlus, Oppo remained the fourth largest smartphone seller in the world, with an 11 percent market share.

It was followed by Vivo, its sister brand to Oppo, also owned by Guangzhou-based BBK Electronics, whose shipments jumped 85 percent year-on-year.

The three Chinese sellers together sold 124 million smartphones, accounting for 37 percent of the global smartphone market.

Meanwhile, Huawei, the third-largest smartphone seller in the world in 2020, has slipped from the top five list as it continues to struggle with strict restrictions imposed by Washington, which limit its access to American technology.

Chinese smartphone sellers at home and abroad are competing to grab Huawei's market share with new 5G devices.

In March, 16 new 5G phone models were launched in China, and a total of 27.5 million 5G smartphones were sold that month, accounting for more than 76 percent of all cell phones shipped in the country.

Despite the growth in smartphone shipments in the last quarter, a global shortage of segments affecting the smartphone industry may limit some business activities in the coming months.

Strategy Analytics' Director of Smartphone Research said: “Chipset shortages and display component limitations did not have a significant impact in the first quarter for the Big Five brands, but will be a source of concern for smaller sellers over the next few quarters.