News: Markets
29 April 2020
Samsung and Huawei capture 68% share of global 5G smartphone shipments in Q1
Global 5G smartphone shipments surged to 24.1 million units in first-quarter 2020 (significantly more than the 18.7 million 5G smartphones shipped in full-year 2019), with demand from China being higher than expected, according to Strategy Analytics.
“Demand for 5G smartphones was strong, particularly in China, despite the emergence of the Covid-19 epidemic,” notes Ken Hyers, director at Strategy Analytics. “China is the leader in demand for 5G smartphones, but demand is also growing South Korea, the USA and Europe,” he adds.
“Samsung vaulted into the lead in Q1/2020, shipping 8.3 million 5G smartphones globally,” says associate director Ville-Petteri Ukonaho. “Samsung has strong global distribution networks and operator partnerships and new 5G smartphones in Q1/2020. Popular 5G models for Samsung include the S20 5G and the S20 Ultra 5G,” he adds.
“Huawei is number two. Nearly all of Huawei’s 5G smartphones were shipped in China, where it is the smartphone market leader,” notes director Woody Oh.
“Vivo is number three. Vivo’s IQOO and X30 5G smartphones were popular affordable alternatives in China in the quarter,” says director Linda Sui.
“Chinese smartphone vendors captured 61% of top 5 vendor 5G smartphone shipment volumes in Q1/2020, with the majority of those volumes going to the Chinese market,” says executive director Neil Mawston. “This reflects the speed with which Chinese operators have rolled out 5G networks, as well as the underlying demand for 5G smartphones, despite the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down large parts of China during the Q1/2020 period. As China continues to ramp up economic activity, we expect 5G shipments to this market to continue to expand dramatically in 2020.”
