In context: Preliminary data from IDC's mobile phone tracker shows that smartphone shipments reached 285.4 million units in the second quarter. That's an increase of 6.5 percent compared to the same period a year ago and marks the fourth consecutive quarter of growth.
The global smartphone market continued down the road to recovery in the second quarter according to independent reports from the International Data Corporation and Counterpoint Research.
IDC's data reveals that Samsung was the leading smartphone vendor in the second quarter. The South Korean tech giant shipped 53.9 million smartphones during the three-month period, accounting for 18.9 percent of worldwide smartphone shipments. Apple placed second with 45.2 million iPhones shipped, good for a 15.8 percent market share. Xiaomi trailed just behind with 42.3 million devices shipped.
In a separate report, Counterpoint Research said smartphone sell-through grew six percent in the second quarter. According to the firm's monthly smartphone tracker, it was the highest year-over-year growth rate in the last three years and the third consecutive quarter of market growth.
Counterpoint's top smartphone vendor list mostly mirrored IDC's, with numbers deviating only slightly. Samsung led the pack with a 20 percent market share, followed by Apple at 16 percent and Xiaomi at 14 percent.
Both publications also identified Xiaomi as the fastest-growing brand in the top five. IDC listed Xiaomi's year-over-year growth at 27.4 percent while Counterpoint was a bit more conservative at 22 percent. IDC noted Xiaomi's strong performance in emerging markets like China, with Counterpoint adding that the popularity of the company's Redmi 13 and Note 13 series combined with a leaner product portfolio played to its advantage.
Interestingly enough, Counterpoint found that the combined share of the top five smartphone brands actually fell as a result of pressure from the next five brands including Huawei, Honor, Motorola, and Tecno.
As for the market as a whole, Counterpoint senior analyst Ankit Malhotra said the industry has entered a new era of slow and steady growth driven mainly by replacement cycles.
Image credit: Andrew Matveev