Consumer Electronics

Apple Leads Global Smartphone Growth In Third Quarter

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 28, 2019 6:32 am

Last Updated: March 13, 2020 4:32 pm

Global smartphone production rose 9.2% quarter over quarter in the third quarter to 375 million units. Among the largest smartphone companies, Apple bested that by far. Its production rose a steep 42% to 46.7 million, according to research firm TrendForce.

TrendForce experts wrote: “The company (Apple) made several strategic breakthroughs with its iPhone 11 series, including a new pricing scheme for the non-American market and new trade-in policies. On the technical side, the iPhone 11 series featured new colors, triple camera, better photo quality, and longer battery life, all of which drove up global sales. Thanks to the continued popularities of its new phones, Apple’s production volume is projected to peak at about 69 million units in 4Q19, with the iPhone 11 series accounting for 77% of this figure.”

Samsung continued to be the market leader in units. They were up 4.8% quarter over quarter over quarter to 78.1 million.

Huawei ranked third with quarter over quarter growth of 13.4% to 67.5 million. The reason was: “its increased share in the Chinese domestic market. In the overseas market, the company was able to stabilize its sales figures after the U.S.-imposed ban was announced in May. Huawei is yet to be removed from the Entity List in 4Q19, which will pose great difficulties for its overseas expansion with new phones. Fortunately for Huawei, the ban does not affect sales of old models released before May, so they are expected to continue to contribute to sales. Huawei’s 4Q19 production volume is projected to reach nearly 55 million units, while China-U.S. relations remain the largest variable affecting Huawei’s future performance.”

TrendForce said the next engine for smartphone sales will be the move to 5G