Global Smartphone Shipments Surge to 375 Million in Q3

Consumer Electronics

Published: October 27, 2016 9:00 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:51 am

The flagging global smartphone industry got a bump in the third quarter as global shipments jumped 6% to 375 million. Samsung shipments dropped 10% during the same period, according to Strategy Analytics.

Samsung’s shipments fell from 83.8 million in the quarter a year ago to 75.3 million. Apple shipments also dropped, from 48.0 million to 45.5 million. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) recently posted its first annual revenue decline since 2011.

These two global smartphone leaders have problems they cannot overcome soon.

Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, commented:

Samsung shipped 75.3 million smartphones worldwide in Q3 2016, falling 10 percent annually from 83.8 million units in Q3 2015. This was Samsung’s slowest growth rate for almost two years. Its global smartphone marketshare has dipped from 24 percent to 20 percent in the past year. Samsung’s recent Galaxy Note 7 recall was handled badly, which dented its brand image and left a large product gap in its premium smartphone lineup. Samsung will now be looking to its next flagship launch, such as the rumored Galaxy S8 model, to recover momentum in 2017. Apple fell 5 percent annually and shipped a lackluster 45.5 million smartphones worldwide in Q3 2016. Apple’s global smartphone marketshare has softened from 14 percent to 12 percent in the past year. Apple has been given a slight boost by Samsung’s Note 7 missteps, but it continues to face iPhone fatigue among many consumers in major regions such as China and Europe.

The three primary Chinese manufacturers — Huawei, OPPO and Vivo — posted impressive gains. Shipments by Huawei rose from 26.7 million to 33.6 million, putting it third in global sales for the third quarter. OPPO rose from 9.0 million to 21.6 million. Vivo sales rose from 9.8 million to 18.3 million.

Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments and Marketshare in Q3 2016 [1]

Global Smartphone Vendor Shipments (Millions of Units)	Q3 ’15	Q3 ’16
Samsung	83.8	75.3
Apple	48.0	45.5
Huawei	26.7	33.6
OPPO	9.0	21.6
Vivo	9.8	18.3
Others	176.9	181.1
Total	354.2	375.4

Global Smartphone Vendor Marketshare (%)	Q3 ’15	Q3 ’16
Samsung	23.7%	20.1%
Apple	13.6%	12.1%
Huawei	7.5%	9.0%
OPPO	2.5%	5.8%
Vivo	2.8%	4.9%
Others	49.9%	48.2%
Total	100.0%	100.0%

Total Growth: Year-over-Year (%)	9.5%	6.0%

Source: Strategy Analytics

1. Numbers are rounded.

Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts

Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.

It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.

We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.